It was the dark of the night. The wind whistled through the branches of the trees, the leaves rustling as a result. It seemed to be silent with the nearby road having no traffic whatsoever. It was very peaceful and calm for an evening like this.

However, the silence was shattered by the sound of crunching leaves under feet, the panting of someone's breath. A silhouette of a small and young male figure could be seen swinging and running through the trees, almost like it's trying to get away from something. The figure looked back to the forest, then up to the moon, almost like it's in fear of something, until it eventually collapsed into the ground, the leaves partially covering the figure.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!"

Out on the dark and empty road on the outskirts of the city named Coolsville, the mystery-solving gang known as Mystery Inc. were all riding around in their van, the Mystery Machine, heading off back to their headquarters after a long mystery. The self-proclaimed blonde leader Fred Jones was driving the van, with the redhead girl Daphne Blake next to him. In the back, there was the auburn-haired girl genius Velma Dinkley, with the cowardly go-lucky male Shaggy Rogers and the talking Great Dane Scooby-Doo.

"Like, talk about a crazy mystery." Shaggy sighed in relief.

"Reah." Scooby nodded back, whilst sitting next to him and laughed.

"At least we caught the monster before it got away." Velma added, then she noticed outside the window that the van was slowing down. "Fred, what's going on?"

"There's something on the side of the road." Fred replied, and he stopped the van. As the headlights were set on high-beam, they saw what looked like a small figure, but it was covered in leaves, with it was lying on its front. It also seems to have dirt and leaves.

"Velma, come on." Daphne now climbed out of the van, along with the smart girl, and they ran over to the figure. The two woman grabbed the figure, then they brought it into the van, whilst Shaggy now sat up front, Scooby sitting with the girls to take a look.

"I'm not sure, but this little person looked like they've been through a lot." Velma noted, then she and Daphne began to clear the leaves off the figure's body.

After a bit, they saw the figure was a teenage boy, with soft brown hair, one who looks to be around 8 years old, with pale white ghost skin, but he has bruises, cuts and slashes across his arms and on his face. There was a lot of dirt smudges across his body. His clothes, which consist of a thin black shirt, degraded jeans, and ruined shoes, also looked to have cuts and rips along them. There also seemed to be some bandages around the forehead of the kid, as well as other bandages.

"Jinkies." Velma said in shock as she saw all the cuts and bruises.

So, while the girls tended to the wounds on the little boy's arms and face, Fred immediately drove back to Headquarters, Shaggy and Scooby keeping an eye out every now and then.

Once back at headquarters, Velma and Daphne placed the boy's body down onto the large couch in the large room. The boys all looked over to see, and they too were rather surprised by this.

"From his height and size, I figure he possibly stands at least 4ft tall." Velma took a guess to the others. "Though his facial features and body figure help prove to us that he's roughly around the age of either 8 or 9 years old."

"But, like, why does he have such scars?" Shaggy wondered, Scooby sitting next to the unconscious brunette.

"Why don't we get him to a doctor, and see if they can figure out-" Fred began to say.

"Hold on, guys. He's waking up!" Daphne whispered.

The boy stirred a bit, opening his eyes, revealing them to be a bright electric blue, his vision a bit blurry as he placed a hand on his head. When his vision soon cleared, he sat up quickly, now backing into the corner of the couch, pulling his legs up to his chest and looking nervously at the gang, trembling a bit. He didn't know how to react or how to respond next.

"Oh, you don't know us... I'm Shaggy, this is Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Scooby Doo. What's your name?" Shaggy asked the boy. The boy said nothing, scooting back a little in worry.

Daphne cleared her throat, sitting down beside him. "You don't have to be afraid. We're going to help you out. Can you tell us your name?" She asked, kindly.

The boy stopped shaking a bit, then he pointed to his mouth and he shook his head with sadness on his face. "Can you not speak?" Velma took a guess, and the little boy shook his head in acknowledgement. "I see." Velma noted.

Freddy rubbed his chin, then he got himself an idea: he found a piece of paper and a pen. "Here, you can write out your name for us." He said, handing them to the boy.

The boy looked to the paper, then he scribbled onto it. After a few moments, he held it up, so the gang could read it: 'My name is Braedey Martin'.

"Okay, Braedey, can you tell us exactly what happened?" Daphne asked to him gently.

Braedey now began to write on the paper, taking some time to do so, which made the gang wonder what he could be writing down. Then, after a bit, the boy showed what he wrote.

'I am on the run. I lost my Mum and Dad when I was only 5 years old. When I was taken in by adoption by another family, they were nothing but abusive to me, making me do jobs that I couldn't do, and they'd punish me even if I did a good job. After all of that, I had no choice but to run away from them. If they find me, they'll take me away and harm me.'

"How did you lose your parents?" Fred asked. Braedey began to wince, shaking his head, as tears slowly started appeared in his eyes.

"Hey. Don't cry. It's okay." Daphne said softly, gently putting a hand on Braedey's shoulder. She even wiped away some of his tears, as he looked over at her. "Tell you what - why don't you tell me what happened, and we can go on from there." She offered.

Braedey thought for a short moment, and though he had just met and known these people for less than an hour, he sensed they were good people, and 10 times better than the family he's been placed with over the last 4 years. He nodded to Daphne, and the redhead damsel-in-distress lead him over to her little area of the large building.

Inside, there was a lot of purple and pink in Daphne's bedroom, along with a little bit of blue and red, but it was overall pink and purple. Braedey wasn't sure what to say about the room, but decided against it to ask.

Daphne lead him over to a seat, and she gently took his right arm, whilst he wrote down something on the paper with his left arm. "So, Braedey, why don't you start from the beginning?" She asked to Braedey, whilst tending to the marks and the cuts on his arm.

Braedey thought back before the accident, but as he does so, small tears began to appear in his eyes again. But, he took a deep yet shaky breath, and he began to write down what happened as Daphne tended to his wounds. In a few short moments, he showed Daphne what he had wrote. It said...

'It all started when I was only 5 years old. Me, my Mum, and my Dad were driving home after we have gone to the theme park. But, when we reached an intersection not far from home, a huge truck came out of nowhere, and it struck the car, ripping it in two. The back of the car spun around, with me still inside it, and when it came to a stop, I saw the front was gone, along with my Mum and Dad.'

Daphne was rather shocked at what she was reading, but she now continued to read what was next.

'When the firefighters and the medics came, they checked me over, and they saw I was okay. But, when they found the front half of the car, all they could find was my Mum and Dad's bodies. They were killed almost instantly when the truck hit the front of the car. I was left as an orphan, and with no other family members to take me in. Plus, they couldn't get into contact with anyone I might know. So, they brought me into a different family, but I didn't feel safe with them, and I was 100,000% right, and I wished I joined my Mum and Dad up in heaven.'

Daphne looked through the writing, rather confused by the last sentence, and she soon knew why, as she continued to read through the last part of the writing.

'After the police left me with the adoptive family, they didn't even care about me for one second. Whenever there was breakfast, they'd finish up what they had, and when I get to the kitchen, there'd be nothing left. So, I'd have to make my own breakfast, but when the mistress saw me making breakfast, she'd whip me and told me to do ALL of the dishes, and not to use the dishwasher. At lunch, the same thing happened, and with dinner, the witch would just throw me into the closet with nothing to eat, and leave me there for the rest of the night, even locking the door to keep me inside. Whenever they'd ever go on vacation or even just a trip to the shops, the wretched woman's teenage daughter, who happened to be 20 years of age, would have me tied on a leash as if I was a dog, and she told me to stay and be with her. She never allowed me the freedom to be a child to ever play with others, and kept me locked up. With vacations, they'd leave me behind, and lock me up in the closet so no speculation of controversies start up. Whenever I was alone, I had to force the door open with my head. Fortunately, I managed to get myself out, but when the family come back, they all would throw apples, oranges, or even rotten garbage at me, all because of what I've done, which was nothing. The mistress even made me to be the maid of the house, much like that Harry Potter kid in those books or something. So, one night, four years later, after I was locked up in the attic, I decided to leave the house, and get away from the nightmares, running away to try and find somewhere safe.'

After reading all of the abuse and the suffering that this little boy has gone through for the last four years, Daphne looked to Braedey, looking at all of the marks, scars, and bruises that had been inflicted on him, and she felt bad for him. Then, oddly enough, Braedey felt Daphne pull him into a caring hug, and hold him close to her, gently rocking him to give him some comfort. But, instead of feeling afraid or scared, he felt rather calm and relaxed. He leaned into her hug, and he hugged her back.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through, Braedey." Daphne patted his head, but he didn't flinch from the contact. "If it'll make you feel better, why don't you stay with us? Maybe... I could even adopt you from that family?"

Braedey thought for a moment, then he picked up the paper he used. He wrote down on it, and he handed it back to Daphne. It reads: 'Why don't you talk to the gang about it, and see what they might say? If they say yes, I might give you an answer.'

Daphne looked to Braedey, and thought he had a good point. "I'll go and talk to the others. Wait here, maybe go and take a bath." With that, she left for the main room, as Braedey began to think about something. He then found some new clothes that Daphne had left him, so he began to make his way to the bathroom.

Back in the main room of the headquarters, Daphne walked back into the room, where Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were sitting there. She explained about Braedey's situation, and she handed them the notes he wrote just moments prior. They were all deeply mortified by what they read.

"Whoa..." Was all Fred could say about what he's seen.

"Like, zoinks." Shaggy said in shock. "I never thought he had gone through something like that."

"Reah." Scooby nodded in agreement. "Rhat now?"

"Well, we can't take him back to that family, after what we've read." Velma pointed out. "Plus, the police won't want to hear from his point of view."

"So, what now?" Fred asked.

"I was thinking, why don't we let him stay with us? Maybe even adopt him from that abusive family?" Daphne suggested to them. "He's only 8 years old, and he needs someone to watch out for him."

"Like, that's a good idea." Shaggy nodded in agreement to her idea.

"Yeah. Since he seems to be more relaxed around us a bit, I think he could stay with us." Velma added in.

"Okay. I'll go talk to him." Daphne stood up, and as she turned around, she saw Braedey standing at the doorway, now wearing a white shirt with blue pants, which do seem a bit big on him, but they were better than his old clothes. "Oh, Braedey. Listen, we've all talked a little about your situation, and about what you've been through, and we all decided that you should be part of the gang, and I'll adopt you under our protection."

Scooby then walked up to Braedey, and the boy looked to the Great Dane. He knelt down to him, and hugged Scooby. The Great Dane smiled a little, and hugged him back, the others smiling at this interaction. Braedey then ran up to Daphne and hugged her around the waist, to her surprise but she hugged him back in almost a motherly or sisterly manner. The others also walked up and they hugged the young kid, Braedey feeling warmth and comfort from them.

And sure enough, after about a week of rehabilitation for Braedey, he got used to being around other people, Daphne and Velma having tended to some wounds, and even Shaggy and Scooby getting him some new clothes to wear. After that, Daphne took the abusive family to court about what happened, and they tried to defend themselves, saying that Mystery, Inc. was responsible for kidnapping and abusive behaviour. But, due to Braedey's papers and the gang's words against the abusive family, the latter had no choice but to give up their adoption rights on Braedey, and Mystery, Inc. legally adopted the young brunette into their group and family, Daphne thankful for her know-how in the courtroom thanks to her own family and their know-how.

After that, Braedey became a fully-fledged member of the Mystery Inc. gang and family.

Over the course of a few weeks, the gang have gotten accustomed to their new friend, and they all welcomed him in with open arms. After a bit, Braedey had gotten used to his new lifestyle, along with his new affiliation as a mystery solver. It was spooky for him, but slowly and surely, his fears started to die down.

Fred had helped Braedey with getting into shape, and slowly, his small and skinny body became slightly lean, but he didn't mind. It was just slow progress, by the way. Velma had taught him about what he must look for during mysteries, and she when taught him different types of elements. It was a little tricky for his little still-developing mind, but he eventually got the concept of the elements in no time.

Shaggy and Scooby had also taught him how to cook different types of meals, along with creating different ideas of how to run away from monsters or ghosts, even though they don't actually exist. Braedey got the handle in the kitchen, even got a stepladder so he can reach the top of the bench to work. Finally, Daphne, despite being a damsel-in-distress, she taught him of what he must do in case of something goes wrong, whether it be escape tricks or even some quick strikes and kicks.

Also, whenever Braedey had any spare time for anything, he would go to a small part of the Coolsville forest, which was just a block away, and he would start to learn how to climb and swing from trees and branches. He began to ride them as if was Tarzan of the jungle. He also learnt about his new abilities, such as shooting webs from his hands. He didn't know how he could even do such a feat, but Velma took a guess that something must've happened in his youth, but she was at a loss for knowing how that can be, and she didn't have access to Braedey's mother and father's records to make any assumptions.

Regardless, Braedey would smile to himself, as he slid across the branches, swung from the trunks, along with the webbing that he shot at the branches above, and he'd hang from the trees, looking at either the setting sun or the rising moon.

Now, Braedey was living a happy and care-free life with Mystery Inc., a brand-new family, and with nothing to no longer worry about...

A/N: there we go. First chapter of my 'Scooby-Doo' reboot, and yes, I'm including some Spider-Man bits and pieces here and there, which might come into play later on throughout this series.