After the monster had entered the lake Velma had curled up into a ball, too terrified to think of anything else to do. As she lay there she became aware of an unusual hum. It sounded a bit like electrical machinery, there also seemed to be the sound of a pump and fluid flowing. After a while all movement stopped with a jolt. A few seconds later the bubble she was in began to move. She took a peek to see what was happening and saw that the bubble was now resting on the floor in some kind of building. She could see a figure approaching her and sat up.
"So Polly, we meet again, this time there is no pooch to help you." the figure gloated.
"Who on earth are you? Let me go NOW mister" replied Velma angrily.
"Temper, temper Polly." he replied
"I'm not Polly, who are you?" replied Velma, though she had an idea who he could be.
"Don't play all innocent with me Polly Eaglestone, you were loading things into your car yesterday, your lab coat and ID card betray you, only you have access to that lab. Your cowardice in hiding behind the identity of your friend makes your crimes all the worse... it won't just be you who suffer if you don't cooperate." The walls of the bubble began to shrink and exude a fluid which to Velma smelt like acid, she began to cough from the fumes, her eyes started to water
"Please stop it, please; I don't want to die" shrieked Velma, "yes I am Polly, please don't hurt me. I'm sorry, please leave my friend alone." The bubble stopped shrinking and soon the air was clear again. It had to be McKleef and he was nuts, it was clear to Velma that the best path for survival, both hers and Polly's, was to play along. The figure walked up the bubble imprisoning Velma, a small hole opened and he passed a packet in to her.
"Remove all your clothes, including your underwear, shoes and socks. Change into the contents of the packet then place your clothes inside it then pass it out to me." The bubble went opaque, "You have 3 minutes or the digestion process will begin again"
Velma opened the package with trepidation, wondering what sort of humiliating costume she would be forced to wear. She was relived to find it was just regular casual clothes, grey underwear, grey tracksuit trousers, grey t-shirt, grey sweatshirt, white trainers and socks. She quickly changed hiding Scooby's radio tag under her new clothes. She packed up her old clothes and passed them through the hole which sealed shut. "One more thing" said the figure "this way" the bubble moved along the floor, Velma could see that they were now in some kind of laboratory, when they were in the middle of the room the bubble stopped and opened up at the bottom. It revealed a heavy pair of ankle shackles attached to a long piece of chain which was fixed to the floor. "Put the shackles on your ankles" the figure commanded. Reluctantly Velma bent down and put them on. "There's much work to be done so you will be working for 16 hours each day, every day, to reproduce your discovery. This is now your world, everything you need is in this room, you can get drinking water from there, you can sleep on the camp-bed over there, a toilet is over there. I will bring you food twice a day. I said you would work for me, you refused, now you will slave away for my glory. Succeed and you will be rewarded, another blanket for the night or your favourite food perhaps." The blob opened up around her, again the smell of acid filled the air then she was standing in the lab. "Get to work Polly. I will be back later with your evening meal." He and the blob left, she could hear the sound of the door being locked then chained shut. Oh I'll get to work all right thought Velma sorry Daph, I'm still not going to wait to be rescued...
After a meagre evening meal, a sleepless night and a even more meagre breakfast Velma was slowly working away in the lab, partly on her escape plan, partly on doing enough to stop McKleef getting suspicious and perhaps get some better food. About midday he came in the lab and ordered her to sit down and watch a 'motivational video' he had made that morning. He stood behind her and held her face as he played the film. Velma's face lit up, it was Daphne, her friends were looking for her! The camera panned down to show a skeleton dressed in her clothes, then panned up to show Daphne walking directly in its direction "No Daph, no, turn away" whispered Velma, already tears were starting to roll down her cheeks. McKleef gripped her face tightly just as Daphne face first registered the meaning of what she had seen on the ground. Daphne and Velma's screams echoed around the lab.
Velma sat on the stool and wept and wept long after she saw film of the gang discovering her 'body'. The looks on Daphne and Shaggy's face were unbearable to watch, but she was forced to watch them over and over again until they were burned into her mind. "See my dear Polly; we will be troubled no more. There will be no interruptions to your work as no one will be looking for you, those meddling children will soon be running home to mummy" Velma's grief flashed to rage at those words, no-one spoke about her friends that way. McKleef, as Fred would say, was going down, and going down hard if she had anything to do with it. It was time to put her plan into action.