Chapter Four: Road of Trials.
She had sworn the spider seemed to laugh. But this surprise didn't override Alexa's immediate fear of the spider and her efforts to keep it at bay. It was a horrible and large thing. Its eyes blaring at her, all eight of them, unblinking and focused. They were large enough she could actually see her horrified reflection in each of them.
Its fangs dripping its venom into her bathwater as its hunger for her grew. Like doomed Tantalus reaching for the ever out of hand grapes and water which surrounded him.
Outside the bathroom she could hear the sound of struggles and animal growls. Shaggy was dealing with his own struggle and she couldn't guess what was happening with Scooby. This left Alexa alone with the spider attempting to kill her.
Shaggy ducked a slash from the cat-lady's claws. While he wouldn't fully transform until the next moon, he still had access to many of the abilities of associated to a werewolf. As such he was able to match this opponent in strength and in speed. The speed being unfortunate as whenever he tired to go over to Alexa, hearing her in trouble in the bathroom, the cat-lady would attack him.
He could also hear Scooby growling at something outside. While animal instincts were threatening to take over given the situation, he still had the ability to reason. A quick plan came to mind just as the cat lady pounced at him. Rolling back along with her momentum Shaggy kicked her out through the door. Scooby ran in and Shaggy motioned for him to rush to the bathroom to help Alexa while he ran out to deal with whatever the cat-lady had brought with her.
The spider was close to breaking Alexa's hold when Scooby-Doo came in. He opened his maw and bit down on the spider, tearing the body and legs from Alexa's hand. His teeth crushing the spider's brain and body. He spat out the foul tasting remains of the creature as Alexa crawled out of the bath. She gave a quick kiss to Scooby before rushing for clothing, the sounds of a fight outside becoming louder.
Apparently the cat-lady did not come alone. The lumbering creature, with an ape body and a jaguar head, leapt out into the fray. Between the two of them Shaggy was forced onto the defensive. Avoiding the cat-lady's claws and the jaguar-ape's fists proved difficult. The cat-lady even getting a good hit at his side.
In the shattered doorway of the room Alexa clutched her bag tightly as Scooby marched ahead of her. His eyes glowing and eerie green, like the time at the museum. The attacking monsters then seemed to stumble as their vision became obscured. They began to see strange shapes and figures replacing the foe they fought. They saw strange figures of various costume getting the two of them involved in strange activities.
This was all in their minds while at the time Shaggy, having gained his second wind leapt up and, balling his fists, struck both enemies with powerful blows, rendering them unconscious. Once he was sure they were out, Shaggy began to revert and doubled over, clutching his side.
"Shaggy," Alexa cried out as she ran up to him, Scooby in tow.
"Like...I'll be fine," he strained to say. "Do you still have the..."
"I do," Alexa said.
"We like, gotta get out of her," said Shaggy. "I can hear police sirens. I got us a rental, let's go."
Leaning on Alexa for support, the three made it to the car and sped off into the night as the police began to arrive. Trailing not too far behind them though appeared to be a living bolt of light.
In stately manor of Albert Shagworth, the wealthy scientist awoke from his bed. He had an idea for a new invention and wanted to jot down his ideas. He reached for a notepad he had on his nightstand. When he went for the light however someone else beat him to it. Looking up the inventor started at the sight of Batman. But the Dark Knight was not alone, the famous Wonder Woman was at his side.
"Professor Shagworth," Batman said, handing Albert his glasses. "We need to talk."
Albert put on his spectacles, his face giving away no true surprise at their coming.
"If we're going to talk this late at night I might as well have a midnight snack," said Albert. "We can talk on our way to the kitchen."
Albert got out of bed and donned a rob before leading the two superheroes through his house. It was there he noticed his disabled robotic butler Robie.
"Oh I hope Robie isn't too badly damaged he's a good robot," said Albert.
"Professor, this really is a matter of importance," said Diana. "One of my Amazon sisters has gone with your nephew and..."
"I can assure you Princess Diana that Norville would never do anything to harm another living soul," said Albert.
"Even with his condition?" asked Batman.
Albert glanced over at Batman, only to receive a glare.
"I read the Gotham news papers, you found a strange creature," said Albert, turning to the kitchen. "No doubt that wasn't the only thing. I take it you've done your homework on my nephews friends and me I'm sure. I can assure you that neither myself, my nephew, or his friends are involved in some heinous criminal activity. Rather we are attempting to make several wrong things right. My nephew's 'condition' chief among them of course."
"And stealing these various artifacts is going to help?" asked Batman.
"Securing them, against those who truly have harmful intentions," said Albert. "And finding the root of the problem."
"By going about it this way your Nephew is almost certainly going to be accused of the thefts in Gateway City," said Wonder Woman. "If the authorities haven't decided so already. The fact that my sister is with him may also be seen as a crime."
"Norville will not allow harm to come to her," said Albert. "Many have labeled him a coward but when push comes to shove Norville will not run when others need help. It was a lesson his father taught him well."
"All the same we need to find him," said Batman. "And the others."
"So you can put Norville in one of those hellholes like Arkham or Blackgate?" Albert shouted. "Rob him of his dignity and place him in a cage like an animal? Or worse...you'll kill him."
"The Justice League does not kill," said Diana. "Professor, I know the book your nephew went to retrieve from Wickels. It is one about the study of werewolves. A condition your family has struggled with for centuries I'm sure."
"Struggled with?" Albert said with a laugh. "You mean cursed with. Drove my ancestors out of our homelands and forced us into the wilds of a New World. It skipped my generation and that of my sister and I prayed that finally the issue was over. But then...Norville."
"Tell us what happened?" Diana asked. "Help us to understand, please."
Batman drew back as Diana leaned closer, placing a comforting hand on Albert's shoulder. While often Batman would be more direct and intimidating when conducting an interrogation, he realized Diana's method was more required here.
"When he was young there was an...incident," said Albert. "When he and his younger sister Maggie were at a babysitter's house it was robbed. The burglar found them and...it was a full moon. That coupled with the stress of the even I believe triggered the transformation, activating the genetic sequence that had been dormant till that point. By the time Sam got there the burglar had his face tore off as if by an animal. He survived and thankfully the trauma was so great he blacked out what had happened. The babysitter was dead, defending the children under her care. Norville had been found holding Maggie, his hands covered in blood. Sam was able to ensure the record came out that the babysitter had clawed the burglar defending the children. But...I knew there was no coming back from this. Sam knew of course about his wife, and me, and our family. He gave Norville the dog Scooby-Doo, the latest in the line of dogs the Rogers family owned for hundreds of years. And I, having turned to science to try and understand this 'condition' fashioned medicine that would keep transformations at bay. But the trauma of the event had effected Norville greatly. He blocked it all out and developed what had been diagnosed as a panic disorder. When really it's the enhanced flight or fight instincts of his lycanthrope nature. But because it happened when he was so young he couldn't properly process it. And unfortunately despite my efforts to try and guide him to want a less stressful career path in his future, he idolized his police officer father. Going along with his friend Fredrick as they fashioned themselves as detectives. Only exasperating Norville's condition, the dog was still able to help but over time the medicine began to lose its effect. He transformed fully not too long ago. A case he and his friends were on, ironically a supposed werewolf near the Canadian border. The faux werewolf was nearly chased over a water fall by a transformed Norville. By the time the authorities arrived, Scooby had managed to calm Norville enough to change back. The culprit was thought to be mad and thus his accusations against Norville were thrown out and he's currently in a mental asylum."
"I take it after that you told him the truth about what he is?" asked Batman.
"I...I did," said Albert, turning to open the fridge and coming back with the makings of a sandwich. "By that point I had uncovered a means perhaps of truly understanding the condition."
"The collection of A.M.P, Nazi scientist apparently," said Batman.
"A man of my means has many methods of uncovering very specific secrets," said Albert. "That collection of research was more in depth than you realize. Operation Paperclip collected even complete journals. Rough notes on the early research of human/animal hybridization. And sooner or later all sciences leak out. Don't be surprised if you find many of these hybrid villains you have fought, the ones created by scientific means, have some of their research in the root of that original work."
"Then you noticed how pieces of the collection were being stolen," said Batman.
"Stolen...or reclaimed?" Albert suggested. "There is so much mystery around this collection, it's difficult to determine if the original owner even died in the first place."
Batman raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, as did Wonder Woman, when a ring went through their Justice League communicators.
"Batman, it's Flash...I think I just came across something you and Diana might be interested in," said the voice of the fastest man alive.
Alexa had been sure to grab as much of their supplies as she could before running out with Shaggy and Scooby into the woods to avoid the police. Among the supplies they had gathered included a first aid kit. Which Alexa went to apply to Shaggy's side.
"No," Shaggy partially growled, his wolf attributes still active. "I...I'll be fine."
Scooby's eyes began to glow and Shaggy began to breathe deeply.
"It isn't just the moon that affects your transformations," said Alexa. "It's when you're flight or fight response is engaged."
"Like...yeah," Shaggy said, calming down as his wounds began to heal themselves. "But like the moon still like...like it brings out the worst. It'll be full tomorrow. Alexa..."
"I appear to be in danger no matter what," said Alexa. "So I am going to continue with you in spite of it."
Shaggy was going to try and argue but couldn't really find the strength.
"Kind of had to give up the car," said Shaggy. "Like, we still got to get to Scorpion Ridge."
"We'll have to find another means," said Alexa. "But the more important issue is how we were found. And that spider that attacked me...I swore I heard it laughing."
"Zoinks," Shaggy whispered. "Well let's not stay put. We cut through the woods, avoid the roads, and like we'll try and find another place to lie low. You still got the book?"
Alexa nodded and pulled up her bag, showing the book still inside. She also had their money in it as well and a few of the spare clothes.
"Groovy," Shaggy said. "Let's go."
Using the teleportation system, the Batman and Wonder Woman arrived at Flash's location. Where they found the Scarlet Speedster standing next to a wrapped up the cat-lady and the hybrid creature.
"I was running back from a mission when I overheard the local police band and decided to lend a hand," said Flash. "Imagine my surprise when I found these two."
"Interesting but why call us?" asked Diana.
"We're not too far from Gateway City and Etta got in with us about your missing sister," said Flash. "After securing these two I gave the room a once over, sure not to contaminate anything for the local CSI, I didn't find much other than the remains of perhaps the biggest spider I've ever seen and a heap of old clothes. Here was what was in the heap."
Flash handed an identification card, with Alexa's name on it.
"They were here," said Bruce.
"Was there anyone else?" Diana asked, fearing the worst for Alexa.
"No one," said Flash. "Some blood spatter, a full bathtub, but no body or anything. Just these two weirdos here. I'd have done a sweep of the woods but I didn't want to risk them waking up with the local cops. I put in a call and an A.R.G.U.S. pick-up ship will be here soon. If you guys got these jokers I can..."
"Hold on Flash," said Batman. "We should try and get more answers from these two before anything else."
"Agreed," said Diana, drawing her magic lasso.
The cat-lady had reverted back to her human form as Batman propped her up. Batman gave her a dose of smelling salts to wake her up as Diana put the lasso around her.
"Tell us who you are," Diana commanded.
"I'm...L...Lena Dupree," the woman said, trying to fight the lasso.
She also made cat-like moans as she tried to fight the lasso.
"What was your purpose in being here?" Diana asked.
"To s...s...secure the Lupine Journal," Lena cried, giving a loud moan. "And to kill the ones who possessed it."
"Where are they now?" Diana asked.
"I don't know," Lena cried. "The dog tricked us and the werewolf struck us down."
"Werewolf?" asked Flash.
"Long story," said Batman.
"Who do you work for?" Diana asked.
Lena gave eyes as if to plead for mercy, fear striking her terribly.
"Ca...cannot say," she said, struggling.
"The lasso of Hestia compels you to tell the truth," said Diana. "Who do you serve?"
"I serve...I serve..."
Lena began to make gurgling noises in her throat and her body began to convulse.
"Diana ease up," said Flash.
"This isn't me," Wonder Woman said, equally disturbed.
"I serve...I serve..."
Her throat began to swell as if something large were coming up from the inside.
"Diana pull back your lasso now," Batman yelled.
Before Diana could though, Lena's throat burst forth and a large spider leapt out of the bloody hole towards Diana. Flash, acting on his legendary super-speed, pulled a night-stick from one of the local officers and struck the spider before it could get to Diana. The sudden impact, added by the Flash's speed, caused the spider to burst.
"Holy...that was...that was..."
The Flash could not suppress his vomit. While Barry Allen was a seasoned crime scene investigator who had seen much in his time both in that profession and in his time as a superhero, this was a new one for him.
Batman, while surprised, worked to put up the image of confidence he had to for his team. As well as the local officers now on alert to this and eyeing the various heroes.
Diana was especially shaken at this.
"Diana," Batman said quietly, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "This was not your fault."
Diana could only barely register Bruce's words. Never had she had someone die because of the Lasso of Hestia.
"This was not your fault," Batman stressed. "This would likely happened if anyone tried to pull their boss's name out of them. A built in fail safe to ensure silence and to kill the interrogator if the name came out. This is not on you Diana."
"Uh, guys, I think we have something else wrong," said Flash.
The other two drew their attention to the ape-jaguar hybrid which seemed to be convulsing and swelling.
"Oh please not again," Flash begged as the body burst with more spiders, much to his horror.
Shaggy, Scooby, and Alexa managed to cross through the forest to the next town over. Once there they purchased bus tickets heading down south. From there they would go west to Scorpion Ridge.
"I'm surprised we were allowed to bring Scooby," Alexa said in a whisper.
"Like part of Scooby's deal is that he can influence people's minds," said Shaggy. "Like people just aren't seeing him or recognizing him as a dog. It's kind of what he did to get those two goons earlier. We used it a lot on cases. Scooby would make the guys think we were all sorts of things, and he'd usually con them into some goofy situation while we maneuver around them. Or even make them think they were chasing us through some kind of infinite hallway where you go through one door and our another on the other end of the hall."
"Useful," Alexa noted.
"Like yeah," said Shaggy. "He's even doing a bit of that now to make us at least unnoticeable. Not invisible but we're not drawing attention. So long as we keep it cool we should be good."
"But we still don't know who our enemy is or how they found us," Alexa noted. "Or for what purpose these items are being collected."
"Like one mystery at a time," said Shaggy. "And we'll keep along until we can get somewhere I can hold up for the full moon"
"What happens when you transform fully?" Alexa asked.
"Like I go wild, Scooby usually keeps me calm when I'm like that but you've seen how I am partially," said Shaggy. "When it's full I'm like...well let's just say I don't want to be off the leash."
After dispatching the spiders which had hatched out of the hybrid, the League received permission to take the bodies with them. Batman imagined the local authorities didn't want to even try holding those bodies after what they had seen.
But now both bodies, as well as the remains of the spiders, and the blood Barry had recovered from the scene, were in the Watchtower labs. And despite Diana's want to go into the woods and hunt for Alexa, she agreed to help Batman and Flash with the bodies, and to inform the rest of the League.
"The next time Iris asks me to help crush a spider in the house I'm bolting," said Barry. "Seriously, I may have to get analysed because that...that was all so wrong."
"Seriously?" asked Aquaman.
"Arthur, a giant-ass spider burst out of a woman's throat and then god knows how many more came out of the body of this, jaguar-ape thing," Barry said frantically. "It was..."
"I'm sure it was quite horrifying to watch Barry," said J'onn, the Martian Manhunter. "But we must try and keep our composure. Diana, I'm sure it must have been hard for you especially."
"It was," said Diana. "I have never used the lasso to..."
"It wasn't you Diana," said Batman. "Like I said before that was a fail safe. Any of us could have tried to interrogate that woman and we'd have all had the same result. I've looked over the remains of the spiders. They're an unknown breed but one thing I have been able to determine is that they are highly venomous. And given the nature of when they burst out and in such speed I can only conclude that they were placed by means of magic. I've called up Zatanna to overlook them. These spiders may be the signature of whoever we're dealing with."
"But just what are we dealing with?" asked Superman. "What you've told us so far has so many different pieces to it I can't seem to see the whole puzzle."
"Yeah, just how involved is this Mystery Incorporated?" asked Green Lantern.
"And is Diana's fellow Amazon safe with them?" asked J'onn. "Is she a hostage or did she go of her own free will?"
"That is the only question I want answered," a rather angry voice said upon entering.
All turned and saw the furious figure of Artemis, the fiercest of the Amazons.
"Diana, my sister is taken and you stand here doing nothing," Artemis yelled.
"Artemis..."
"Alexa is no warrior," Artemis continued. "You know this and you allowed her to come to Man's World anyway."
"Alexa had the blessing of the queen," said Diana. "And from all I've heard of this Shaggy Rogers who..."
"Who is a monster," yelled Artemis. "If he hasn't harmed her yet he shall by the time the moon turns full. I will ensure that he is..."
"I swore to his uncle that we would not harm him," said Diana. "He went to get the book in hopes it's history on werewolf physiology could be used to find a cure. It also appears that he and the other members of this Mystery Incorporated are attempting to get ahead of whoever is behind these dark horrors which I have just encountered. It also appears that they are hunting Rogers as well."
"All the more reason we should be directing our efforts to finding our sister, not debating at a table on what action to take," said Artemis.
"I want Alexa found safely just as much as you Artemis," said Diana. "But we have all just stumbled into the advances of an enemy we were unaware of. Rushing now before we know who it is we are truly fighting could put Alexa in even more harm. We must be wise sister, and trust that Alexa is cunning enough to hold out until we can find her."
Artemis was about to lash out more when Diana took her hands.
"Sister, I now you only worry for Alexa," said Diana. "I do as well, and I will gladly join you in her search. But we must known more of the situation Alexa has now found herself in. I promise you, we will see our sister safe again."
"Diana...Alexa is not a warrior," Artemis said, her anger giving way to fear. "I tried so often to make her one but...if Alexa is harmed I will..."
"Have faith that the gods are watching her," said Diana. "Have faith that Alexa is cunning. Have faith in our sister."
Artemis took breath and straightened.
"You may have given your word to this man-wolf's kin but I have not," said Artemis. "Should this Shaggy Rogers harm Alexa in any way, I will do what I must."
"I would also seek justice for her but we still do not know why Alexa left with him," said Diana. "Especially if all he wanted was the book."
"Perhaps not, but we do believe she's unharmed," said Batman. "There were hair fibers in the bathtub at the motel. Female fibers and the DNA didn't match the blood we found. That came positive for Rogers. Likely he got clawed by one of the attackers."
"And what do we know of them?" asked Artemis.
"We're trying to figure that out," said Diana. "Join us sister."
Artemis took seat at the table alongside Diana and the meeting continued.
"So what we've got to work with is a Nazi's collection of artifacts, a group of private eyes with one of them being a werewolf, and some kind of mystery group which is targeting said collection parallel to said P.I's," said Green Lantern. "And we've got two which had spiders burst out of them likely by magic. I gotta say this is weird, even for us."
"We have one still in custody," said Batman. "The Pterodactyl-hybrid currently held in Gotham. So far analysis of its DNA matrix have been inconclusive. But it's still alive and communication doesn't appear to be an ability it has. Meaning there is no way to interrogate it, considering what happened recently, that might do more good than harm in this case."
"But we're sure that's connected?" asked J'onn.
"Fred Jones was there that night," said Batman. "He's in the same group as Rogers. He was after the scroll same as the creature."
"And you just let him get away?" asked GL. "Not like you Bats."
"Not entirely," said Batman. "When I identified the device Jones used to trap the beast as one of his, I had Oracle know what to look for. For him and for the others. She got a few interesting results. Scrambled images from ATM cameras and false data from the cards liking to a secret account."
"But how can you be sure that this is them?" asked Superman.
"Locations," said Batman. "At some point these happened near the various crime scenes. The most recent being in the same town as the motel Diana, Flash, and I were just at. That was Rogers, Jones would be near Gotham. Blake and Dinkley either in Oakhaven, Massachusetts or New Orleans, Louisiana. The latter featuring a murder in which the victim had been clawed to death. Likely the same one whose body we currently have."
"Any lead on her end?" asked Flash. "I mean I know I freaked out a lot during that but she did at least give her name."
"I looked into that," said Batman. "The name Lena Dupree only had one match.'
Batman brought up a holographic image of a piece of aged parchment, a charter of some kind.
"As the name of a resident of a small French colony from 1769," said Batman.
"You're kidding," said Aquaman.
"That'd be a first," said Lantern.
"Fingerprints came up as a dead end," said Batman. "But there's more to this. The colony she was apart of was more isolated than other colonies at the time. They had been considered heathens for worship of a supposed Cat God."
Batman brought up the image of a stone idol holding a basin. The idol was a hybrid of man and cat.
"This is one of the items missing from the shop in which the recent murder took place," said Batman. "This idol has quite a history to it. Antiquarians traced it back to originally being part of that colony. After it had been wiped out by the pirate Morgan Moonscar. Moonscar took it and since then it's changed hands to various owners, most of whom ended up dead. Eventually finding its place in the same location as other relics behind enemy lines during World War Two before coming back to America."
"So we've got the corpse of a centuries old cat-lady up here, joy," said Aquaman. "This is getting more fun by the minute."
"What about the other one?" asked J'onn.
"I actually think I might have something on that," said Flash. "The whole bit with the spiders happened so fast I couldn't really process it but I had felt I saw that creature before. Or at least something like it."
Flash pulled up several articles of blurry photographs.
"Bigfoot sightings?" asked Aquaman skeptically.
"These are supposed sightings of a creature called the Jaguaro in Brazil," said Flash. "Local tribes described it as an ape with a jaguar's head."
"And you didn't put that together at the scene?" asked Aquaman.
"I was in the CSI zone so I was focused on the job," said Flash. "Then, as I said that whole thing with the spiders happened and now I have arachnophobia thank you. But now that I've calmed down I remember seeing images of this creature. In fact I think I might have also seen the Pterodactyl thing Batman caught. Both were classified as Cryptids, animals not recognized by the scientific community. Just like Bigfoot and even some of us before we became common knowledge."
"Okay, a century old French Cat-lady, a Cryptid, a werewolf detective and his buddies, Diana's missing Amazon sister, and a Nazi's horde of artifacts," said Lantern. "I'm still not seeing the big picture. "We have to get in touch with this Mystery Incorporated."
"Before Flash contacted us Batman and I were meeting with Rogers's uncle Albert Shagworth," said Diana. "We could try through him.,"
"If he hasn't already contacted them and now they're on alert about us," said Aquaman. "And when we do meet them what's the game plan? I mean how do we classify these guys? Friend or Foe?"
"So far the only one who can be accused of a crime is Jones," said Batman. "For taking the scroll which was already being stolen."
"Or this Rogers for kidnapping Alexa," said Artemis.
"If their goal is to find a cure for their friend and to keep these object out of the wrong hands then we can come to a compromise," said J'onn. "But we must make contact with them."
"Or find out where they're going next," said Aquaman. "Because an operation like this, once they have what they were looking for, they'd go to a rendezvous point."
"I may have a way of finding that out," said Batman. "I've looked into their history, their hobbies, their interests. They'd go to a place where they'd feel comfortable. One that's isolated but also defensible and easy to hide. They're attracted to the mysterious, the strange, and the bizarre. They'd go for a place in America shrouded in the paranormal. They'd fell at home there."
"Bruce there are dozens of really weird ass or haunted places in America," said Flash. "I should know I looked into a lot of them when I was looking into...well you guys know."
"But only one fits with what they'd need," said Batman. "Scorpion Ridge, New Mexico. Former site of a S.A.L.F research station, decommissioned by the government and now sold to a private research company some years ago."
"Let me guess, owned by Albert Shagworth," said Superman.
"Scorpion Ridge has a history of supposed alien abductions, cattle mutilation, and the like," said Batman. "Isolated with minimum civilians and desert on all sides. With that in mind, bringing up the locations Oracle pinged and we get a potential trail."
Batman connected the dots to where all trails went to Scorpion Ridge.
"It's a heck of a guess," said Superman. "Not to mention they might find alternate trails."
"Especially since Rogers had to improvise his exit from Gateway City," said Batman. "But it's the site which makes the most sense."
"I'll go in advance," said J'onn. "If any arrive I will let you know before making contact."
"That makes sense, especially if they already know they have an enemy whose already on their trail," said Diana. "But what about this elusive enemy? Our interrogation failed and all we have to go on is the spider motif."
"We also have what Shagworth suggest," said Batman.
"What was that?" asked Superman.
"That these items are being reclaimed," aid Batman. "The Nazi scientist who had this collection in World War Two. Supposedly killed in the bombing and of whom almost all record was erased from before the war ended. All we have are the initials A.M.P, so far turning up nothing."
"Barry didn't you say that Jaguaro thing was from Brazil?" asked Lantern.
"Yeah, and a lot of Nazis were fleeing to South America after the war," said Flash. "It's a long shot but worth a look. I'll even get in contact with this guy I used to chat with about all these Cryptids and stuff. Might have some idea or at least give us more to look into."
"I'll come with," said Lantern.
"Thanks Hal," said Flash. "You too Arthur."
"I'll perform an autopsy on both Dupree and this Jaguaro creature here at the Watchtower with Zatanna," said Batman. "Diana and Artemis should follow Rogers path. if possible, try not to engage."
"Only if Alexa is unharmed," said Artemis.
"We'll follow Bruce's projected path," said Diana. "But I have to wonder, how did the enemy know where Rogers and Alexa would be to send those assassins?"
"That raises another issue," said J'onn.
"Yes, are they aware of us now being on their trail," said Batman.
Switching a few different busses during the day, the unexpected trio found themselves rolling down the road, eventually coming to the edge of Texas as the sun waned. Purchasing a map Shaggy found that there was an old West Ghost town called Gold City not too far from the station. With the sun going down there was little choice but for the three to go there.
They arrived as the sun was close to setting. The three made their way to the jailhouse where Shaggy and Scooby put themselves in the cell. Shaggy took some chains and with Alexa's help seal the door.
"Doubt they'll hold long but, it's better than nothing," said Shaggy. "We're also so far from other people even if I get loose it shouldn't be an issue. You might want to find somewhere to hold up."
"I'll stay here," said Alexa.
"Like I'm being totally serious," said Shaggy. "The full moon brings it out entirely. Scooby can keep me calm but it'll still want to run, hunt, and...kill."
As Shaggy continued to try and tug the chains, Alexa reached her hands through the bars and her fingers touched his.
"It's frightening isn't it?" she asked.
"All those cases, all those crooks, none of them scared me as much as...as much as knowing what I am and what I could do," said Shaggy. "I...I did it once, I was a kid, it wasn't a full transformation. I didn't even remember it until my uncle told me. A man attacked us...me and my sister and...and when I came to my hands were covered in blood, I was holding my crying sister in my hands, and the guy...he lived but..."
Alexa squeezed her grip and Shaggy looked at her, locking his eyes with hers.
"You were protecting your sister," Alexa said. "You fought to protect me and Professor Wickels. You fought to defend us from those monsters. This is not a mindless beast within you looking for slaughter. It is a warrior spirit, a guardian. A protector."
Reaching through the bars she stroked his face tenderly, hair beginning to grow as a sign that the transformation was coming soon. Knowing this Shaggy drew back, trembling.
"I will stay here," she said.
Shaggy went to the far end of the cell as the sun finally died down and he began to change. Not just the growing of hair but the morphing of bones and the pulling of muscles. As Shaggy screams of pain transformed into wolf hounds, Alexa felt herself tremble where she stood but she would not allow herself to move. She would keep her word to this man. To this...reluctant werewolf.
As Alexa stood in witness to a painful and frightening transformation, another figure loomed over one soon to be transformed.
"Wake up Professor," a voice like a chilled knife said to the slumbering form of Professor Wickels.
Wickels woke and attempted to scream only for the figure to jab in a long finger, tipped with a sharp, pointed nail into the professor's throat. As blood filled the professor's throat, threatening to cut off his oxygen, the visitor undid the medical monitors.
"A shameful death is so fitting for a thief as you," the visitor said. "But rest assured in death your spirit shall become a true knight. My beautiful patron goddess shall make it so. But I shall also be taking something else of yours. Something physical which I may alter, as to atone your flesh."
The visitor dug his fingers into Wickel's eye and tore it out, dangling it in front of the dying professor.
"Oh how...grim it all is when destiny finally creeps up on you," the visitor laughed.