SCOOBY-DOO: Shipping Up to Gotham
Scooby-Doo, DC Comics, and all related characters are property of Warner Bros.
Dedicated in memory of Russi Taylor (1944-2019).
Chapter 1: Midnight at the Museum
The night air sat still over downtown Gotham, the sleek Art Deco spires that dominated the city skyline piercing into a sky the color of television tuned to a dead channel. Below these towers of steel and glass and concrete sat more humble structures such as apartment complexes and office blocks. And atop one of these ten-story concrete colossi sat two young women, both clad in purple ensembles and waiting for a call to come…
"So, what'd you bring tonight, Babs?"
Barbara Gordon unclipped a reusable lunch bag from a carabiner on the side of her outfit's belt before promptly getting to work on examining its contents.
"Some sandwiches, dried fruit- you like apricots, right, Steph?"
"What kind of sandwiches?"
"Deli-style roast beef, chicken salad, egg and cress-"
Barbara was interrupted by a message from the police-band radio integrated into her cowl.
"All units, be advised- we have a break-in at the Gotham Museum of Antiquities by an unknown perpetrator."
The redheaded crimefighter turned to her blond cohort.
"Ah, well- looks like dinner'll have to wait. Wonder who we'll find at the scene this time?"
"All the old paintings on the tombs- they do the sand dance don't you know! If they move too quick- oh whey oh- they're falling down like a domino!" a young white-haired woman in a black leather outfit with a bob haircut idly sang to herself as she stuffed the pockets of her cargo pants full of ancient jewelry.
"Boss, you sure this is a good idea?" a nearby man with shoulder-length blond hair, chin stubble, and a scar on his left cheek asked.
"I don't pay you think, Bob!" came the reply.
"It's just that- well, what about the Bat?"
The white-haired woman let out a haughty laugh.
"Word on the street is that the Bat's out of town- or did you miss that memo?"
"Aren't you forgetting something about him, though?"
"Like what?"
"Like that he's got-"
Just then, one of a pair of doors labelled "MAINTENANCE- MUSEUM STAFF ONLY" swung open, a yellow combat boot poking through the gap between the two doors.
"-understudies." Bob finished.
Right as he finished his sentence, Bob soon found himself on the receiving end of a roughly bat-shaped projectile. A few moments later, the rest of the robbers were staring down two quasi-familiar faces.
"Batgirl and Spoiler- the heroes this city neither needs nor deserves." the white-haired woman jeered.
"Nice to see you too, Magpie." Batgirl snarked.
Magpie let out another chuckle.
"Word of advice, girls- you don't exactly look good in purple."
"It's not purple, it's eggplant!" Spoiler hissed.
"Six of one, half-dozen of the other. Now scram before I carve you both up like a turkey!" Magpie retorted.
Spoiler promptly reached for her utility belt and pulled out her collapsible bo staff.
"You wanna rethink that?" she asked.
Magpie smirked as she drew twin switchblades.
"Let's dance!" she exclaimed.
"With pleasure." Batgirl replied.
It was at that moment that Magpie noticed that her opponent had drawn her grapple gun and was aiming it squarely at her lower legs.
"Clever girl, but you really should lead your target!"
Right as the gun discharged a length of wire terminating in a grappling hook, Magpie tumbled out of its path, the bob of white hair falling off to reveal a head of close-cropped black hair.
"Now, let's see if you two can keep up!"
And with that, Magpie bolted off deeper into the museum, making a beeline for a nearby exhibit entry with the sign "WAYNE FOUNDATION PRESENTS THE TREASURES OF SMENKHKARE- OPENING SOON!" above it.
"Wait- who's this Smenkhkare guy?" Spoiler asked as she read the sign.
"Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty- if records are to be believed, he only ruled for a year before he was assassinated and subsequently succeeded by his younger brother Tutankhamun. Though considering that his tomb was only recently discovered, the scientific community hasn't really had any opportunities to test that claim." Batgirl replied.
"Huh. Good to- LOOK OUT!"
Batgirl barely had any time to react before Spoiler tackled her out of the way of a falling large novelty Egyptian vase.
"Thanks for the save!"
"Dammit!" a nearby Magpie exclaimed.
Right on cue, Spoiler leapt up, staff fully extended as she closed the gap.
"Oh son of a-"
There was a sudden THWACK! as the staff struck against Magpie's head, dazing the kleptomaniac crook.
"NOW!" Spoiler yelled.
Batgirl nodded, and then drew and aimed the grapple gun in a single fluid motion. A moment later, the wire struck true, entangling Magpie's legs and sending her falling to the ground.
"And score another one for the Auxiliary Dynamic Duo!" Spoiler whooped.
Gotham Docks- same time as Magpie's defeat
"Montoya, remind me again why the Commissioner wants us escorting some dead pharaoh and all his junk." Harvey Bullock groused as several crates were unloaded from a nearby freighter.
"Because that 'junk' is worth a king's ransom, and at least half the usual suspects'll be coming out of the woodwork to get their grubby mitts on it." his partner replied.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
If you're wondering who Smenkhkare is, he's from the Tom Strong comics, where he was Alan Moore's reinterpretation of the obscure Golden Age character known as Mystico, the Wonder Man. Also, if you're wondering where Magpie's henchman Bob came from, he's based off Bob the Goon (aka Joker's number one guy) from Tim Burton's first Batman movie from 1989.