Shaggy and Scooby munched happily on snacks as the Mystery Machine bounded down the interstate. Traffic was light and the gang made good time through Florida; before too long, a green road sign heralded the coming of Orlando, Florida. Fred flicked on the turn signal and smoothly exited the freeway.
"Mariawood Mall," he announced, turning into the packed parking lot and screeching into an empty space.
"I hope New Army has my favorite shoes!" Daphne squealed, leaping out of the van excitedly.
"Now, now," Velma scolded. "Don't forget we have a job to do."
"We do?" Shaggy asked curiously.
Velma gulped as she realized she said too much. "Of..course…we…uh have to find the food court as quickly as possible! Yeah, that's our job!"
Shaggy looked puzzled. "Really? I like this job!"
In the mall, people carrying armloads of bags and boxes bustled around the shiny open hallways. Enormous skylights filled the mall with gorgeous natural sunlight. The gang walked over to the glass balcony overlooking an elegant beige-tiled mezzanine.
On the mezzanine below unfolded an unusual sight. Maria Webb, the owner of the mall, strode purposefully in-between lines of silvery-blue robots all standing at attention.
Behind her jogged her boyfriend, Brock Knight, a handsome sandy-haired man in an acid-green Haunted Swamp Tours t-shirt and blue jeans.
(A/N: The gang met Brock Knight and Maria Webb in Scream of the Sinister Swamp Spook)
"Come on, Maria," Brock whined. "You said you had the whole day off!"
Maria lost patience and spun around, fire blazing in her eyes. "Brock, this security system cost me an arm and a leg, okay? I didn't know it was going to be delivered today, so I had to come in and make sure everything's set up right." She smiled slightly. "When it's all finished, we can have our day off. Okay, honey?"
Brock pouted. "I guess…"
Maria kissed him on the cheek. "That's my boy. I'm going to find Dr. Iverson and have him put these robots through their paces." With a barely audible 'see you later,' Maria vanished into Nerdstroms. Muttering furiously, Brock stalked away as well.
"Hey, Brock!" Velma called, waving. Brock did a double take as he recognized the gang. He caught a nearby escalator up to the second floor balcony where they stood.
"Hey, gang! Hi, pup!" Brock exclaimed, scratching Scooby behind his ears. "What are you all doing here?"
"We just unmasked a Seaweed Monster in Miami, so we thought we'd take a breather and shop a little before heading home," Fred replied. "How have you been? And when did you and Maria start dating?"
Brock thought for a moment. "Hmm…probably about a month after the swamp monster fiasco? After Frank and I partnered up, we started seeing her more and more as we became successful. And, well, I always thought she was beautiful...so, I asked her out-—under the pretense of talking business, of course—we hit it off and have been going out ever since."
"Nice," Fred replied with a smile and a laugh.
"Yeah," Brock chuckled. "We've been doin' pretty well for ourselves, so we gave ourselves the week off. He's visiting family up north and I'm here spending quality time with my girl. Or at least, I was until these stupid robots decided to intervene…" he murmured.
"Yeah, what's going on here?" Velma asked, indicating the robot mob below.
"Counterfeit money and shrinkage have been at an all-time high," explained Brock. "And there aren't enough security guards available to enforce the rules. So Maria hired Dr. Iverson, her techno-guy, to make these security robots to do the job. He built the mall's security system from scratch and these robots are his latest upgrade. Oh look, here he comes now. You're all in for a treat!"
Maria Webb, her black heels clip-clopping on the shiny mall floor, returned onto the scene, closely followed by a slender gray-haired man wearing horn-rimmed glasses, a blue button-down shirt, black pants and a lab coat. In his hand he carried a silvery-gray remote with dozens of multicolored buttons.
"Now remember, Ms. Webb," Dr. Iverson puffed, struggling to keep up with Maria's long strides, "These robots are highly experimental, so don't expect perfection."
"I do expect perfection," Maria replied disdainfully. "If these don't work perfectly, you won't see a cent!"
"Ms. Webb," Dr. Iverson protested. "Please be reasonable!"
"I don't have to be reasonable," Maria sniffed. "I'm paying you a pretty penny for this security system. The least you could do is deliver satisfactory results. And if I'm not satisfied, you don't get paid."
Dr. Iverson look worried as the pair finally reached the robots. "All right, old boy," Dr. Iverson murmured to himself. "Moment of truth time." He closed his eyes and, with trepidation, pressed a series of buttons on the remote in his hands.
With a whirr of circuitry and a success chime, the robots' eyes all glowed yellow and they began to move around jerkily. The doctor opened an eye cautiously. "Ha HA!" he laughed in triumph upon seeing his success. "I am a GENIUS!"
"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed. "I didn't know it was possible!"
Brock nodded, a smug grin crossing his face. "Told you so."
Below, Maria patted the doctor on the back. "Congratulations, doctor, you've really outdone yourself."
Dr. Iverson blushed faintly at Maria's praise. "Thank you, Maria. Now…my fee?"
"I'll authorize the payment and you'll receive it in three business days," she replied in a no-nonsense tone.
"Fantastic!" Dr. Iverson exclaimed, grabbing Maria's hand and pumping it vigorously. "Pleasure doing business with you!" As the grey-haired doctor dashed off, Maria shook her aching hand from the enthusiastic farewell.
On the balcony above, Brock turned to Mystery Incorporated. "Well, looks like the show's over."
"Food court time!" Shaggy interjected. Scooby barked his agreement.
"Good idea, guys," Fred replied. "You all go scout out the food court and we'll join you in a few."
As the dog-and-detective duo ambled off, Velma slipped Brock an invitation to Scooby's birthday party. Brock slit open the envelope and scanned the invite quickly. "Hmmm…I think we can finagle that." He slipped it into his pocket. "I'll make sure to tell Frank, too."
"Great!" Fred exclaimed. "The more the merrier! You go on your date. We'll see what we can find for Scooby while he's busy eating."
Brock chuckled at Fred's spot-on comment. "Looking for anything in particular?" The trio exchanged puzzled glances and shrugs. "No? Well, Stacy's has a pretty decent sale today; you might find some good deals. It'll be up this escalator, down the hall and to your left. Can't miss it."
"Thanks!" Velma replied as she, Fred and Daphne headed up the escalator. "See you later!"
While Mystery Incorporated dispersed into the mall, Brock leaped on the escalator and slid smoothly down the moving banister. "Well, my love," he sighed, leaping off the banister and giving an exaggeratedly low bow to his girlfriend. "Shall we go?" Maria giggled like a schoolgirl as Brock raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
"Gallant as always, Brock," she tittered, kissing him on the lips. "Thanks for waiting so patiently."
Brock took his girlfriend's hand and steered her towards the nearby exit. "You're worth waiting for," he replied, causing Maria to emit another giggle.
As the lovebirds approached the exit, a shrill alarm sounded throughout the mall!
Maria gasped in shock. "That's the robot alarm! They've caught a shoplifter. I have to go check this out!" She untangled her fingers from Brock's and dashed towards the alarm.
"So close," Brock scowled, chasing after his girlfriend.