Author's Note: Hello, guys! Originally, this chapter was written in a rushed manner just so I could get the story out, but, as of this rewrite, it's received a MASSIVE update! So if you're willing to come back and re-read it for knowledge on what's supposed to happen next, feel free to stop by and have a look! In the meanwhile, the next chapter will be updated VERY soon and then, after that, I will finally have the last chapter up!
After Spidey equipped his Spider Tracer tracker into the Mystery Machine, the gang hopped right back into the iconic van in hopes to arrive at the last location wherever Mysterio wound up. While tightening a few bolts and screws with Velma, Spidey somehow managed to keep his emotions in check despite the fact that his best friends were now in danger. Something about confessing his crime fighter lifestyle seemed to allow him to feel more emotionally organized than usual. However, he wasn't exactly in the mood to web swing and offered to instead ride in the Mystery Machine to avoid any public attention. With a heavy heart, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mysterio wasn't going to bring them to a place of sunshine and rainbows like a magician at a birthday party.
He was more than likely to bring about darkness and despair upon them to no avail.
This was the first time Gwen and MJ had ever been outright kidnapped by any of his foes. Most of the time they were either threatened or put in danger - like the time the Sandman attacked their school, flooding the hallways with sand particles that took ages to clean up - but never abducted and brought out of sight. Even though he knew to come prepared this time, he certainly wasn't prepared for this.
Fred, meanwhile, had witnessed Daphne get captured many times prior to now, but never by a supervillain of such great power. Most of the crooks in suits they encountered before possessed no forms of enhanced technology or carried dangerous weaponry aside from maybe a few smoke bombs they used to make their great escape. Mysterio, on the other hand, proved to be a dangerous foe by how willingly he threatened the Hex Girls and his friends with plenty of technological marvels and weapons that, while fake, still posed dangerous to the likes of a normal human being. With Spider-Man on their side, though, the odds remained in their favor, but unless they couldn't get to the girls in time, then who knew what would happen to them.
With all these ideas heavy on Fred's conscience, his expression remained rather glum for the drive.
"Fred, cheer up," Velma said optimistically from the seat next to him noticing his downer appearance. "I'm sure we'll see Daphne again."
Feeling inspired by Spidey's great confession, he took a deep breath ready to let his feelings out. "It's not just that she disappeared, Velm. It's just…" He paused and sighed, knowing what he wanted to say, but barely having the strength to say it. "I'm worried."
"Worried? About what?" she asked of concern.
"I'm worried about the horrible things Mysterio may do to her," he finally said. "This villain's bigger than any of the ones we've captured in Coolsville that he may do something more extreme than simply use Daphne and the others to lure us into his trap."
"He's certainly more capable of atrocity than the Road Rager was and…" Velma paused, giving Fred a look that told him she figured out something he didn't quite understand about himself yet. "Fred! Are you telling me you have feelings for something - or someone - other than traps?"
Fred's eyes widened. He then glanced over at her rather quickly in an effort to feign innocence. "What?! N-no, I…" He slumped over, feeling now there was no way to hide it. "I do, Velma."
Velma put her fists to her hips as if she had already figured it out. "Wow, I never would've guessed you had a thing for Daphne," she stated sarcastically. "No wonder you're always pairing up with her every time we split up back in Coolsville!"
"You're right. And not only is she an essential part of this organization, but I fear the worst-case scenario of losing her without telling her how I feel. And this time, I'm gonna show her that I care!"
Velma's expression turned from curious to that of a smile, showing her that Fred, a supposedly uncaring guy, did have feelings for people that made him, well… human like the rest of them.
Meanwhile, in the backseat, Spidey had been tossing over his own feelings with Scooby and Shaggy.
"I still can't believe I've let all my friends down," Spidey admitted to the pair. "I've lost my best friend due to misunderstanding and now I've abandoned my best gal pals at their debut concert simply because you guys wanted to know who I was. Well, now you probably know what it's like to let a menace get away with kidnapping somebody you care about just because you were to blind to consider all the factors."
"Hey, Spider-Man, don't get so down on yourself," Shaggy assured him. In spite of learning that his biggest idol was somebody he knew of lesser importance, he remained optimistic about working with him and had greater reason to be his moral support. "Like, we have this happen to us all the time."
"Reah, when Daphne gets kidnapped, she's always a sniff away," Scooby said, flaring his nostrils in a dogish manner.
"I appreciate the optimism, guys, but it's never that simple," Peter began to explain. "With a villain like Mysterio on the loose, the possibilities of him hurting those you care about are all the more likely."
Shaggy and Scooby pondered on this point for a brief moment. Optimistic as they were, they sometimes didn't realize the realism of situations like what Spidey just described. "Like, I suppose you have a point, but I guess I wouldn't understand what with all that responsibility you talked about."
"Trust me, if we keep meeting up like this then surely you'll know what it means to bare great responsibility," Peter assured them while, despite his mood, also encouraging them to think like a superhero for a change.
"Reah, like figuring out where Mysterio went off to," Scooby tried to cater to his motto.
"Like, I hope it's someplace nice and tropical!" Shaggy wished, trying not to think about haunted houses at the moment.
"In Manhattan? You wish." Spidey stated with a chuckle.
Back in the front seat, Velma picked up a blip on the radar pinpointing the nearest possible location that Mysterio could have gone to. "Guys, I think he's close!"
As soon as they heard rapid beeping from the radar, Fred screeched the Mystery Machine to a halt. Mysterio must have been close. Collectively, they all stepped out of the Mystery Machine to find themselves near a rundown apartment in the middle of Harlem. An unlikely place to find a villain's lair.
"Wow! Mysterio's lair looks… just like your average apartment," Spidey joked. Certainly this wasn't what he was expecting given their circumstances. He expected a dark, looming castle with lightning and storm clouds surrounding it - in the middle of Manhattan nonetheless.
"Most unusual," Velma remarked as she glanced at the radar through her glasses. "The radar indicates he's right here for some reason. He must've caught your tracer before he walked in."
"Good thing I came prepared!" Spidey boasted.
"And so did I!" Fred added, boasting about his trap supplies he was currently holding. "You all know what time it is?"
"Like, is it snack time?" Shaggy asked, not wanting to face the task at hand. "Like, I don't wanna go in there if it's gonna be all rundown and freaky like… you know, a haunted house or something."
"Don't be silly, Shaggy," Fred responded. "It's trap time!"
"Right, of course," Shaggy replied nervously, laughter and all. Fred and his traps were all he needed to know that the time to face their fears was now. "Still, this is a villain who kidnapped our friends, and the Hex Girls, and escaped from Spider-Man multiple times with all sorts of weapons that could actually…" he gulped. "Hurt people!"
"I'm just as scared as you are, Shaggy," Scooby told his owner. "As if seeing Spider-Man's face wasn't terrifying enough."
"Hey now, dog! Those who know my face say I'm perfectly handsome!" Spidey retorted too gullible to realize Scooby was just joking.
"Cool it, guys!" Velma stirred before they started arguing. "We're here to catch that villain, not pick at each other. Besides, Mysterio's more than likely just another guy behind a mask just… you know, with a lot of gadgets."
"I know I'll be the one to counter that!" Fred vouched, more excited than ever to trap a trap master.
Velma folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Trapples," she hypocritically sassed him.
Spidey couldn't help, but notice Shaggy and Scooby were still shaking and shivering like the team cowards they were. It was at this moment that Spidey remembered why he never tended to work with such amateurs, but something told him that he didn't have to let them stay as they were. "Whoa, guys! You both cold out here in the middle of Spring?" the Web-head quipped.
"N-no, it's just…" Scooby trailed off.
"We're both scared to a point where we might wet ourselves," Shaggy finished for him. "C-could we maybe wait out here instead?"
"Come on, guys! Your friend, Daphne, is in there. My friends are in there. You guys can't have a team reunion without you two in the picture, now can you?" Spidey told them in the form of a motivational pep talk. "Just be brave and know I'll be right beside you!"
Taking a break from his usual pre-haunt shivers, Shaggy gave his good friend and idol a knowing glance. "Wow, you really mean it, Pete-I mean, Spider-Man?"
"Yeah, man! And if your idol can make it, surely you can too!" Spidey further commented. This wasn't his best A-material - it sounded cheesy for all he knew - but if it made his fans any less scared, then it was the best he got for the moment.
Scooby paused to take in what the Web-head just said. "He's right, you know," the dog spoke up. "At least one of us needs to be brave for Daphne."
"Right, and she's our friend, Scoob! So as long as we go in together…" Shaggy didn't know where to take his sentence, but, having heard his idol deliver such encouraging words, he had a good feeling about where he needed to be.
"We could be unstoppable!" Scooby finished, placing his paw on Shaggy's elbow to comfort him.
The two smiled at one another, embracing like the owner and dog they were. Just them touching signified how much they needed each other and helped them realize how much Daphne needed them all to be brave for a change. They might have been scaredy cats for most of their lives, but with their idol by their side, they were going to do their absolute best not to. As their embrace lasted a few seconds, the rest of the gang stared in their direction knowingly yet somewhat annoyed that they were wasting time. Daphne, Gwen, MJ, and the Hex Girls could as well have been interrogated and tortured by Mysterio for all Fred and Peter knew.
"Now that we're done with sentiments here, we'd better catch some thieves just like flies," Spidey said, referring to the lyrics of his own theme song.
"Right you are, Spider-Man!" Fred agreed, knowing it was Peter under the mask, but choosing not to say it for the sake of protecting his identity. "Gang, be careful this time. For all we know, Mysterio could be at large waiting to ambush us."
"That wizard will rue the day he messed with the friends of Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" Scooby stood up rather seriously in an effort to put on a game face. Deep down, he was still just as scared as ever, but after listening to his idol give him a motivational pep talk, it was almost as if he had the courage to take on Mysterio himself. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to directly, but, as long as Spider-Man stood by their side, he felt like they could do almost anything.
So, without further adieu, the gang marched together inside the apartment complex ready for anything to come their way.
Upon entering through the double doors of the complex, they were met with what looked to be abandoned, vacant lobby. Dust lined the empty kiosk and debris from flower pots sat next to the dirty marble pillars that made the place seem all the more creepy to the average bystander. In spite of the motivation he received a couple seconds ago, Shaggy's teeth had already begun to chatter in fear as a result of the eerie landscape so much that he already wanted to leave and get out of there.
"Like, this is no haunted house, but it gives me the creeps!" Shaggy remarked as Scooby laid a hand on him hopeful to calm him down.
"Just stay calm, he could be anywhere we don't expect," Spidey assured him in an effort to get him back on track.
Suddenly, a ding rang in the distance, alarming Shaggy to the point of jumping into Scooby's arms. "What was that?!"
From behind the dusty kiosk, an elevator arrived as if to summon the group downward towards their doom.
"At last, Mystery Incorporated and Spider-Man have arriveth to dine on my dinner of doom," Mysterio's voice rang over the unseen intercom. "Come on down and see if you can survive the trials of my funhouse. Should you make it through, I will release your friends and the girl band I so captured long ago. If not, they shall remain in my captivity until the end of time!"
Until the end of time was something Fred would not put up with. At this point, he would rather be with Daphne until then; as much as he barely dared to tell her anything before, something changed the moment he witnessed her abduction and he wasn't about to let it go to waste.
"You want a fight, Mysterio, then you've got one!" Spidey offered himself along with the rest of the gang. "We outnumber you five to one!"
"Aye, clever boy, Spider-Man," Mysterio remarked. "But fighting matters not down here so much as surviving!"
Whatever that meant, Shaggy and Scooby especially did not want to know. Regardless, they followed the gang into the elevator in which Spidey pushed the button that sent them downward to their destination. Little did they know they were about to have the fright of their lives.
Soon as they reached the bottom floor of wherever the elevator took them, they were greeted with the sight of a rather plain and normal-looking, red and brown carpeted apartment hallway… on the bottom floor. The gang examined the place rather closely to make sure nothing was either overly suspicious or booby trapped for that matter.
"It looks just like a normal apartment hallway, but then why-" Spidey spoke before the place began to rumble.
Suddenly, like a contraption in a movie set, the place began to flip on its side, hurdling everyone aside towards the wall. Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby tumbled into one another, landing into the wall like a bunch of bananas, which turned to a ceiling, which then turned into another wall. In the confusion, Spidey barely had any time to look back and help his helpless comrades as they tumbled about. As much as he wanted to help them, he had to get to solid ground first in order that he may focus on rescuing them. Using his webs to his advantage, the Web-head strategically and systematically attached his webs to all sides of the rotating cylinder, the swirling hallway becoming more confusing as he hurdled himself along. Behind him, he could hear everyone ramming into one another as they wailed and snapped at one another over the simplest collision. It was a mess alright, but one that he would somehow be able to fix in a matter of seconds if only he could find solid ground.
Eventually, Spidey did land once more on solid ground, beyond which the world seemed normal again save for the empty blackness that covered the surrounding area. Still not fully recovered from the dizziness that was the rotating hallway, he turned back to face the tilting corridor, which had apparently already begun to rotate the opposite direction from before. This only made matters worse for the Mystery Gang as they started to spout inaudible screams over their inability to see and walk straight. If this kept up, somebody was bound to get injured before long and that was the last thing Spidey ever wanted to let happen to anybody. Thinking smart, Spidey launched a series of webs for each of them to grab onto.
"Guys, grab on!" Spidey called out to them as his webs attached one by one to Fred, Velma, and finally Scooby and Shaggy. With a swift tug of each subsequent web, Spidey pulled them through one by one, assisting Fred and Velma to safety first as their recoveries were the smoothest. On the other hand, Scooby and Shaggy clumsily bumped into each other on the launch forward as they tumbled through the air. Once they made it passed the rotating cage of a hallway, Spidey hopped back a step as they piled onto one another nearly dazed from the impact of colliding with one another.
"Like, that's the last time I ever step into a rotating hallway of doom!" Shaggy commented, remembering all the times he stepped into a similar attraction at the carnival funhouse back in Coolsville.
"It's only gonna get worse from here. Come on!" Spidey signaled the group as the meandered forward with him, their views of the world around almost completely distorted from the rotating hallway. Hopefully, Mysterio's next funhouse attractions wouldn't be nearly as nauseating.
Slowly, but surely, Daphne awoke after being unconscious for an unknown period of time. Through her opening eyelids, she could just barely make out her surroundings, which consisted of blackness illuminated by only the brightness of white, blurry screens sitting in front of her. The further she opened her eyes, the more she could faintly make out the silhouette of a figure standing in front of her: a broad-shouldered, pillar-like man with a round head. No doubt this was Mysterio with his cape wrapped around him.
"Why do you insist on keeping the Hex Girls in the limelight?" Mysterio questioned interrogatively.
Daphne didn't answer. She wasn't awake enough to respond nor was she willing to talk to a madman like him.
"Do you expect me to respond to silence? I can see you're awakening so answer me!" Mysterio fired impatiently. The wizard may have been one to slowly tear things apart, but he wasn't patient much.
Daphne grunted as she attempted to lunge at Mysterio only to feel a sudden jerk backwards. Her hands were handcuffed to a wooden chair, herself realizing that Gwen and MJ - Hex Girls costumes and all - were also the same. The girls were slowly nodding awake as she thought of an answer that just wouldn't come to her.
"The show must go on, bubble brain!" Daphne fired back insultingly. "Nothing a mad wizard like yourself would understand!"
"She's right!" Gwen shouted as she awoke. "Let us go you big jerk!"
"Fools!" Mysterio proclaimed. "You think I'm so easily fazed by your insults? I assure you there is more to me than meets the eye!"
This comment got MJ thinking as she became more conscious. "Well, then why don't you take off your mask and show us who you are?"
"And give away the illusion?" Mysterio asked concerningly. "You have no idea how the Arcane Arts work, do you, young lady?"
As if demonstrating a point, Mysterio summoned from thin air above her a green cloud that spewed out a bolt of lightning. The lightning zapped her with a jolt of electric energy, making her yelp in pain. Daphne could do nothing, but sit there and watch as her former supposed rival got hurt right in front of her eyes.
Seeing her tortured, even if only for a split second, caused her to let slip through her lips a pair of words that she never thought she'd hear herself speak. "Mysterio, stop!" she shouted in defense.
"Or else what?" he responded sarcastically.
"Or else Spider-Man will swoop in and kick you off the pedestal you've so created for yourself!" she warned him, hoping deep in her heart that Spider-Man and the gang were on their way to save her.
"If you don't keep that trap of yours shut, girl, your end will come sooner than expect-" Mysterio began before becoming interrupted by the blaring of an alarm at the computer monitor. Accompanied by the flashing of a red light that illuminated the room in an intense crimson hue, the alarm signified the progress of the lair's so-called "intruders" of which Daphne could just barely make out on the monitors. Mysterio turned around to face the security footage on the monitors where he could easily make out the silhouettes of the gang entering a dark, undisclosed area.
"And now the real show begins…" Mysterio stated ominously.
From what they could see, Spider-Man and the gang were in total darkness as if they had gone blind. Was this a new room or a black void full of nothing?
"It's too dark. Somebody got a light?" Fred asked, his voice trembling with uncertainty somewhat. While he managed to at least keep calm, he could easily make out the sound of Scooby and Shaggy's teeth chattering across the way.
"I don't need light as long as I got Spider Sense!" Spidey proclaimed as he strolled casually into the area with them.
Ignoring him, Velma shook her phone to awaken the flashlight function within it. She shone her light across the immediate area, making out only a few details through her glasses such as a grey concrete floor, what looked to be a giant teddy bear sitting in disrepair, and a bizarrely placed set of train tracks the function of which was unknown.
"It looks like we're in a prop house of some sort," she noted, unfazed by all the junk sitting around. "If my guesses are correct, this could be where Mysterio gets the equipment for his acts."
Shaggy laughed nervously. "Like, this is worse than before! Could somebody please hit the lights?"
In an instant, his wish was granted. As if the entire network of lights all turned on at once, the whole area became illuminated, drenched in white light as a bunch of contraptions sitting around began to swerve and whirl to life, revealing also two separate catwalks lining both sides of the room. Internally, the gang had mixed reactions, but Shaggy's was the most obvious as he sprang into Scooby's arms. The dog silently chattered his teeth with him. Be brave, Shaggy. Be brave! he thought to himself.
From above them, a brown rectangular light fixture with two green spotlights began to shine down on them. Spidey's Spider Sense began blaring as he looked up to see the light flaring up as if about to fire something.
"Look out!" Spidey shouted as he signaled the group to move out of the way. Clueless as could be, Scooby and Shaggy caught wind of a green lightning bolt firing near their position as they leaped out of the way, startled, though thankfully not electrocuted. The gang collectively exclaimed in terror as lightning bolts landed all around them, signaling them to sprint ahead in a jiffy. Whilst they tried to get to safety ahead, Spidey noticed the contraption above them possessed the power to hover anywhere it wanted to seemingly at will.
No time to stand and watch his friends nearly get fried to death, Spidey took action by web rushing upward toward the contraption. The contraption continued to fire directly on him as he nimbly maneuvered all directions in an effort to avoid getting roasted himself. Once he neared the top, two robotic tentacles similar to that of Doc Ock's magically emerged from the light fixture. Taking a bit of flare from my older villains, huh? Spidey though cleverly when, before he could dodge, the mechanical arms grabbed hold of him, squeezing him tight as they swung him down toward the floor below. Straight in front of him, Spidey made out an oversized running fan, the giant blades spinning violently ready to slice him to death. Unwilling to embrace this new definition of a world full of hurt, Spidey utilized his super strength to bust apart both tentacles, webbing and tangling them together. Like a rider in a bull rodeo, Spidey managed to lasso both tentacles around the center of the fan, shredding them up with a loud metallic whirl as he backed away to watch the fan fall apart at the seams.
"Hey, Mysterio!" Spidey called out. "How about being a little more original with your work?!"
Spidey couldn't have spoken sooner as he looked beyond the previous chaos to notice Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby standing beneath a giant, red-eyed, seemingly robotic purple teddy bear slashing its giant claws at them. The gang clambered in all directions when suddenly a green ring of fire-like substance encircled them, cornering them to a point where they could no longer escape this monstrosity. Unable to pay attention to their cries for help, Spidey didn't need Spider Sense to know that they were in trouble so he swung toward them, arching over the ring of fire to land in the center and face the enormous teddy bear.
"Spider-Man! Like, help!" Shaggy exclaimed in terror with his dog hyperventilating from running in fear.
The bear slashed its giant claws downward towards Scooby and Shaggy who were ducking and scrambling out of the way when Spidey webbed two web shots towards its red eyeballs. His web residue covered the robot's eyes, but it certainly didn't slow the thing down any faster. Ever so efficiently, Spider-Man shot out two weblines that connected to its shoulders and propelled himself toward it, delivering an upward kick that sent him hurdling over the top of its head. Somehow, the bear knew where he ways and began slashing in his direction, but, before it could get the jump on him, Spidey grabbed its arm and twisted it off. Spidey pulled the robo bear's arm clean off, leaving exposed wires where it once protruded. Landing on the ground, the Web-head thought smart and launched the severed arm straight for the bear's chest. The claws dug right into its circuits, shutting it down on sight as it collapsed to the ground right near Fred and Velma.
"Thanks for the assist!" Velma shouted in congratulations.
"Don't thank me yet!" Spidey declared as the ring of smokey green fire died down around them.
Spidey then looked down to notice that the whole gang was now standing on the oddly placed train tracks he noticed earlier. Once he had the chance to look up, he was nearly blinded by a bright light showing his direction accompanied by a train whistle tweeting his direction.
"Whoa!" Spidey shouted as he and the gang braced for impact all in unison.
Before realizing it, the oncoming train phased right through them, its wacky circus colors surrounding them in a tunnel of holographic wonder. This wasn't what they ever expected to happen in addition to all the other wackiness going on around them. It was almost too much for the team cowards to take. Even so, they remembered Daphne and did their best to keep their composure.
"Illusions. Of course, Mysterio specializes in those!" Spidey noted to himself. "Guys, if you see anything out of the ordinary like that, know that it's probably an illusion of sorts!"
"Well, with all the fake technology we've been seeing attack us so far, I'm only certain we'll see more projections from here on," Velma concluded based on her surroundings. Hardly anyone could believe she was so nonchalant about everything going on around her.
"And if it's not, I'll call the shots!" Spidey promised.
Soon after the gang began to run ahead into an open area containing what looked to be a red and white circus tent - in the middle of a prop house?
"Let's head for that circus tent!" Fred ordered confidently. "I have a big hunch that's where Mysterio's keeping Daph-I mean all the girls!"
Velma noticed that Fred nearly tripped over his words. He knew what all Daphne meant to him now, but chose to keep it to herself. "We'll just have to find out together, won't we?"
Before Velma could answer, Spider Sense registered a new threat to Spidey as a series of pillars lined with golden dragon heads came rotating out of the ground where they stood. Scooby shuffled away in fear as soon as he realized the ground was giving in under his hind paw. He turned around to face the terror that awaited to attack him.
"Raggy, ragon!" he yelped, turning his owner's head in the direction of the nearest pillar.
The sight of what was about to occur gave Shaggy the creeps, but, with Spidey's words in mind, he took several deep breaths in an effort to stay calm. All around them , every dragon head's eyes began to glow a bright orange and Spidey's Spider Sense began blaring all around him, signaling him to pull Shaggy out of the way with a web.
"Look out!" Spidey shouted as he pulled Shaggy to the side to dodge a dart that immediately fired their direction. All at once, each dragon head began firing a barrage of darts in every direction, none of them caring whether they hit the gang or not.
"Zoinks!" exclaimed Shaggy in his usual catchphrase as he and Scooby began running ahead with Fred and Velma. "Like, I should've known!"
In a series of web swings that he carefully planned in his mind, Spidey made his way up toward the nearest catwalk lining the side of the big room. No time to worry about or carry his friends below to safety, he eventually made it out of range, swinging in all directions as he shot out web balls that webbed shut the mouths of each metallic dragon head shut. As if dealing with regular-sized mechanical dragons weren't already enough for him.
The more heads he webbed shut, the more he was able to clear a path for Mystery Inc. none of which had been darted just yet. Thankfully, though, with Spidey-like reflexes, Fred had been holding up an impenetrable sheet of ply metal he happened to be carrying with his trap supplies. The champ of traps knew just what he was doing as he created a landing spot for the darts before they could penetrate his own skin. How efficient and brave, Spidey thought of his manliness.
"Wowzers!" Fred exclaimed, channeling the likes of a gadget-savvy inspector he once saw on TV.
"Fred, now's not the time for making a catchphrase!" Velma berated him. She knew that was important to him just as much as traps and Daphne, but clearly now wasn't the time or place for it.
"Just goes to show you I'm still trying!" Fred responded to which she rolled her eyes.
With their path cleared up enough to reach the circus tent nearby, Mystery Inc. believed themselves to be in the clear of traps bombarding them once and for all. However, Fred held them up as soon as he realized there was something else incoming: a pair of swinging axe pendulums. Without waiting for Spidey to catch up with them, Fred waited for the sharply-bladed axe pendulums to pass one more time before they would then dart past them and into the circus tent.
"Now!" Fred exclaimed as the four of them darted ahead into the red and white tent. Once safe from being sliced by blades of death, they looked back in order to call out to Spider-Man whom they noticed was taking swinging by to take care of the last few dart-shooting dragon heads. "Come on, Spider-Man!" Fred shouted as he signaled him in.
All in one fell swoop, Spidey came tumbling in past the blades of death and into the tent with them. With a sigh of relief, the door shut behind him. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to see another trap again.