From the moment he saved the Pavalls from those crooks, Scrappy felt something different. He had followed Maria home from the day out in seeing the sights of Carmody City. There were many great places to visit besides the Ice Cream palor he saved. Grover's Laundromat was always clean when it wasn't being robbed. Berry Bistro was high class and very exclusive. And, of course, there were multiple banks in almost every corner of Carmody.
As rich of a town this was, it was definitely not without its troubles. As Scrappy had seen when the Pavalls were being robbed, crime was almost a normal everyday thing around here. Being a former criminal himself, the small dog found this to be a rather troubling situation. Sure, he was a devious mastermind who tried to destroy humankind. But seeing the sights around town started to make him mellow out some. Carmody city had a certain charm of its own. That is, on the rare occasion that there wasn't a crime being committed. Granted on his tour, he hadn't seen any supervillains. But that's because it was during the daytime.
Maria had explained that most Supervillains operated during the Nighttime. This girl, wow. For a 15-year-old girl, Maria was quite the genius. Heck, she would even give a certain Orange-Turtle neck a run for her money. He followed her into her room and gazed at all the things that filled it. There was an alarm clock that had a black-and-white creature with brown slacks pointing his arms in a clockwise formation, moving with each minute. Posters made by her own hand hung on her wall. One of them was something Scrappy couldn't stop staring at. A familiar-looking vehicle of blue and green color with orange flowers photoshopped onto the streets of Carmody City. Now Scrappy was not one to jump to accusations here, but from past experiences, he knew what his eyes beheld in that poster.
The Mystery Machine.
With the memory of that iconic vehicle came so many others. All of the ones who drove around in that vehicle. On the off chance that you don't know, the Mystery Machine was driven by a group of kids with whom Scrappy was well acquainted with. In fact, I, as the author of this story, will go further than that and say that Scrappy was a part of their family. Closer only to their pet dog Scooby, Scrappy was glad to be a part of these meddling kids.
He briefly shook this off and looked at the others. Many of them held pictures of different parts of Carmody City. City Hall, Reggie's, and dozens of others. It amazed him how much Maria knew her hometown. But in each poster was included some ominous looking silhouettes with red eyes.
"Impressed?" He looked to see Maria standing there next to her bed. "I've taken some photoshop classes at Aberson High."
"Yeah, yeah." Scrappy nodded as leaned against her desk. "So what gives here, kid? Why'd you bring up here? I know you wanted to show me something. Why not show me downstairs?"
"Because this is something top secret." Maria answered. "Something that I can't have anyone else knowing about. What I have to show you is for your eyes only."
"Well what about your dad?" Scrappy motioned towards the door. "Isn't he, like, a scientist or something?"
"Weeeell, yes and no." Maria scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "You see, he's not exactly the best scientist out there. Lots of Carmody City's scientists have theories about quantum physics and balancing chemicals, my dad works on the study of animals and their physical capabilities. Unfortunately, most of the other scientists there don't appreciate his work. They say that animal brains are 'unscientific.'"
"Wow, that's pretty tough."
"It is." Maria scratched her head. "But anyways, what I'm going to show you has to be kept between us. I want you to promise that you won't tell my dad or anyone else."
"Alright, fine." Scrappy nodded hesitantly. "Dunno why you're making a big deal about it. I mean, whatever you gotta show me, it can't be that ba-"
Scrappy was then interrupted by the last thing he expected. The floor below his paws had opened up as if it were a trapdoor, causing him to fall into what he could only describe as the inside of a chute. He yelled loudly as he felt himself slide against the metal edge of the funnel he was falling through. Eventually, he found himself landing on what he could only describe as an air mattress.
He heard something coming through a different funnel and turned his head to see the shape of Maria coming into view. He watched as she landed perfectly on her feet, hands behind her back. Almost as though she had practiced this. She then turned to him and helped him up.
"Sorry about that," She said. "I've been meaning to have that waxed. Anyways, welcome Scrappy. Welcome, to the Doghouse!"
She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small remote. Once she pressed one of the buttons, the lights in the room suddenly turned on. And once they did, Scrappy was immediately taken back.
It was some sort of secret laboratory of some sorts. The interior was a light blue that reminded him of the color he used to wear around his neck. There was a large computer screen in the center of the large room, the largest of many devices within.
As the small dog stared around at the amazing lab he found himself in, the large computer screen suddenly turned on, with an automated british male voice saying "Good afternoon, Maria.",
"Good afternoon, DAVE." Maria said to the screen. "Scrappy, allow me to introduce the "Diametrically Accurate Visual Enhancer". DAVE for short."
"Uuuuhh…" Scrappy, needless to say, was confused at the flashing blue screen before him. "Hi DAVE…"
"DAVE, meet Scrappy," Maria said. "y'know, test subject one."
"Ah yes, test subject one!" DAVE repeated joyously.
"Test subject one?"
"Don't worry, Scrappy." Maria waved her hands. "DAVE here will give you the run down on all the training that you'll be doing down here."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Scrappy, having taken in all of this scientific business in one go, had decided that enough was enough. "Ok, listen kid. I've seen a lot of stuff traveling around the world with those who shall not be named, but this? A secret lab, high-tech computers, an A.I that sounds like stinking Tim Curry?" He quickly turned to DAVE. "No offence."
"Not at all." DAVE replied. "I get it a lot."
"I totally understand, Scrappy." Maria said calmly. "It's a lot to take in. One minute, you're in jail, next thing you know, you're being thrusted into a secret project run by a 14-year-old. Heck, I'd be scared too. So I'm gonna give you a run-down."
Scrappy watched as she pulled something out of one of her desk drawers. It looked like a small package of some sorts. "And what better way to make you feel more comfortable than to explain the hierarchy chart? DAVE, if you please?"
"With pleasure, Maria." DAVE replied smoothly as his screen changed to show a sort of chart.
"You see, Scrappy." Maria said. "The prison you were sent to, Stella Peeve, is located on the outskirts of the world's most crime-ridden city: Carmody City. One this particular chart you see before you, you see the three main levels of social standings in the city. As you can see, on the bottom of the chart are the citizens. Hard-working folks who make their daily livings selling cars, owning companies, and making Ice Cream like the Pavalls. But all of that effort is put to waste by the second place, the common thieves. Crooked, low-life individuals who are known for robbing banks and stealing kids milk money. Like those four guys you helped bust at the Ice Cream place, Scrappy. These guys are just the kind of guys you find in any city, but they're nonetheless very dangerous. But no more dangerous than the number one rank of all: the supervillains.
Supervillains are the number one threat to Carmody City. They strike fear into everyone within the city limits. As mentioned before, they are most active during nighttime, but are not above striking during daylight hours. They either have superpowers or gadgets and gizmos that they use for their nefarious purposes. Damage is done on a weekly basis, and that's saying nothing of how many things are stolen. Not just money, but people's personal belongings. Now, what makes them such a force to be reckoned with is their tech. High-tech weapons that blow up, incapacitate, or severely injure our loyal police officers. They have enough to worry about the second class, but supervillains are more than a strain on their minds. But you, Scrappy, are gonna turn that around. You're gonna be just what this town needs.
A hero!"
Scrappy raised his eyebrow after this little rundown. There's really no way one can take in all this info with a straight face. Of course, Scrappy couldn't either. With a brief chuckle, he finally replied. "Listen kid, it's nice you wanna help these people. It really is. But of all people who could be their superhero, why in the name of Barbera would you chose me? Need I remind you that I'm the one who tried to take over the world? Why not become the hero yourself?"
"That's part of my formula, Scrappy." Maria answered. "You see, a hero's cause is just, but it's a villain who has the cause and intellect to work behind the scenes. You were a villain, yes, but if you turn that role around, you'll find that you know more about villains than anyone. You could put that knowledge to good use, and help clean up this town. You can be the hero this town needs."
Scrappy looked down and scratched his chin. He couldn't deny that Maria posed a fair point. This town did seem like it was in trouble. He saw what those robbers at the Ice Cream bar looked like, and how they didn't have qualms about harming two elderly citizens. As hardened as his heart was, Scrappy couldn't find it within himself to hurt elderly people, no matter how prejudiced he was against humans before.
"Um… well, what do you have in mind?"
Maria smirked and stood up. "I'm so glad you asked. Before you begun your training, it's best you know what your up against."
She then opened the small pack and allowed its contents to pile in front of him. They were what looked like a bunch of trading cards. They came in different colors: Yellow, Green, Blue, and then Red. And then he noticed letters on the top of them. The yellow ones had a large D on the right hand side. The Greens had C, the Blues had B and there were only a few red ones that had the letter A on them.
"And what're these?"
"These, Scrappy, are villains trading cards." Maria said proudly. "The comic book store down the street made them. These cards tell all the stats and information you'll need to know about every villain Carmody city has to offer. On the top right corner are their rankings. The lowest-ranked villains are the D-grade villains. When you're ready to begin, it's these guys you'll have to start with. Hopefully, you'll have time to move onto the C-ranked villains. Then onto the B's, and by then, those A-ranked baddies won't know what hit 'em."
"What makes 'em so powerful?" Scrappy asked.
"The D-ranked villains are ones that cause minimal damage compared to others." Maria lifted one of the Yellow card and presented it to him. On it was a diminutive man with an orange beard, a chef's uniform, and a crown that looked more like a Blueberry pie sculpted to look like a crown.
"Take the Pie King for example. This guy us as amateur as they come. With mediocre weapons like Rhubarb rays and Blueberry blasters, it's no wonder why he's one of the villains at the bottom of the barrel. But if there's a villain who can REALLY cause some damage, it's thus guy."
She then held up one of the B-rank cards, showing a man who looked like a Mushroom that had joined the army. He was dressed like a general with a Mushroom-like helmet. Across his chest was a strap of strange looking spores.
"General Fungus. When this guy's on the March, you can bet things are gonna get messy. If you think barking orders and shooting Botany bombs are bad enough, think again. He creates an army of Mushroom monsters as his army, and can overtake the biggest bank in Carmody City."
Scrappy leaned closer to the pile of cards before him. There was something peculiar about them that he had noticed. Well, aside from the absurd characters on them. On one of the few red ones, there was a particularly strange-looking villain where his face was hardly seen. He was wearing a hood over his head that covered his face in shadow.
"Oh, I see you noticed Dollface."
"Dollface?"
"Yeah, he's one of the most reclusive Rank-A villains ever." Maria shook her head. "But more on that in the future. Right now, there's something else I need you to do. DAVE?"
The Blue screen lowered down to her on a metal arm. "I'm meeting with Adam and Chester at the park. I need you to show Scrappy the weapons."
"Even the negatives?" DAVE asked.
A dark expression went over her face before she quickly picked herself up. "No! No nononono! That's still a work in progress. Just show him everything else.
"Affirmative." DAVE nodded as she stepped out of the lab. "Now before yourself, Scrappy. And whatever DAVE says, goes. Kay?"
"Sure, sure." As Scrappy folded his arms and looked up, he was easily trying to hide the fact that he was curious about these weapons. In fact, he was quite ecstatic about using them.
"And no using them for evil!"
"Aw man…"
Hello Scooby-Doo fanfic writers! First off, so sorry about the long wait for this next chapter, not that a lot of you care about this story. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this story, and I wanna tell you what I have in mind.: not only am I planning on making a story that ultimately redeems Scrappy-Doo as a character, but a Hanna-Barbera shared universe. Unlike the Scoob movie, I plan on taking the Ducktales approach, building up the upcoming properties that will be rebooted and giving them their own origins.
Also, as seen here, I added a bit of world-building here. A little sneak peak to some villains that will be making appearances in the future of this story. It appears that supervillains have such an influence on Carmody City that they have their own trading card series. And they have their own rankings. Now the reason this story takes so long to continue is that a passion project like this must take time to write down in my head. There may be a few Seasons of this story after the pilot, as there are many characters, mostly villains, that I've come up with.
Also, don't forget about that big guy who came out of the sewers of the last chapter. He's gonna be the main antagonist of this pilot. And then there's that bald man who appeared ominously watching the news. Wonder what his deal is…
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Be sure to leave your reviews below, and stay tuned for more Nighthound.