The Bravo home was a picture of pink perfection. Pulling into the driveway, Johnny parked his mother's pink Cadillac in the driveway and quickly threw the protective tarp over the vehicle. Giving a quick look to the garage, he was unable to recall even once in his life when the car had been parked inside. It did not take long for the Mystery Machine to pull up and park on the side of the road. Scooby-Doo practically exploded out of the back and ran across the lawn to take in the new sights. Still a little weak, the other members of Mystery Inc. left the van and lined up outside the home.
"Like check out the pink flamingos on the lawn. Your mom's got style, Johnny." Said Shaggy.
"It's a lovely little house." Said Daphne.
"You should see it during December. Mama goes all out and has a snow machine running the whole month. This may be Southern California, but she loves her White Christmas'." Said Johnny, leading the way to the front door, he held it open and motioned for everyone to make their way inside.
Adjusting her glasses as she went inside last, Velma seemed to have a hard time looking Johnny in the eye.
"You did make sure to tell your mother that we were coming. We didn't come by to cause any trouble." Said Velma.
"No, no trouble at all Velma. I called my mama and told her I was at the hospital that first night, told her not to worry none. Truth be told she insisted you all come by once you got better, that's the reason why I invited you over." Said Johnny, knowing that they would all likely be looking for clues or something while they were at the house, he was still glad they were all safe after the incident at the hospital.
Taking a deep breath, Velma went inside, and Johnny closed the door behind them.
"Oh goodness, you're all finally here. And right on time too. Go ahead and wash up, then sit yourselves at the table, I'm almost finished in here." Bunny Bravo's voice called from the kitchen.
"Your mom a good cook?" Shaggy asked, a little too enthusiastically.
"Kinda," Johnny replied. Over the past decade, he had spent most of his time at Pop's Diner, eating his meals there. While he loved his mother, she was always the first to admit that she wasn't a good cook. Scents from the kitchen of spices triggered a sensory memory.
"Lost in thought?" Daphne asked, seeing Johnny's expression.
"Oh, I was just reminded of an afternoon I spent in Daman, India. We were filming this big action scene for a movie during the morning, but rains came in and we took refuge in this little tandoori kitchen. Spent the rest of the day eating curry and arm wrestling all the stuntmen." Johnny said, smiling at the experience.
"I remember reading your posts about being in India. Like, how many movies did you wind up making over there?" Shaggy asked.
"You knew he was in India?" Fred asked.
"Like, I manage our social media. I friended Johnny and have been following him for years now. Figured it was like, an olive branch after we left him in the woods." Shaggy said, much to Fred's chagrin.
Before Johnny could answer, Bunny came in carrying four trays in her arms, setting down copper bowls of rice and curries and plates of freshly baked naan bread on the table.
"Now I made a couple of street curries, some tandoori chicken, a lamb biryani, and an aloo gobi if any of you are vegetarian. Dig in." Bunny said, taking her seat at the head of the table, unphased at the sight of a dog sitting in a chair next to her.
"Where did you learn to make this Mama?" Johnny looked over the spread, impressed at the sight and smell of it all.
"Well you know cooking was never my thing, but while I was over in India I figured I needed a hobby. That nice young man you worked with, Jiggy, he introduced me to a few professional chefs and one thing led to another. I think I picked up the basics." Bunny said, clearly bashful when it came to talking about herself.
The conversation was casual, company affable, and Scooby-Doo made sure every last bowl was clean before helping Shaggy and Johnny wash dishes as the meal came to an end. Eventually, everyone filtered into the living room, where a photo album sat atop the coffee table. Velma and Daphne were on either side of Bunny, laughing at a photo as Johnny walked in.
"You're not laughing at my baby pictures, are you?" Johnny asked, wincing at the thought.
"Oh no dear, baby pictures are too cliché. Now adolescent pictures of you all muddy and pouty with scraped knees and crying about being rejected from the Girl Scouts because you only wanted to flirt with them. Now those are priceless." Bunny said, holding up a photo of Johnny wearing a shirt that said 'lil Heartbreaker'.
"You have some incredible blue eyes." Said Daphne.
"We actually did see one of your baby pictures. You had really dark hair when you were born. Odd that it became so blonde." Said Velma.
"Well, I've done my part as a mother. Contractually obligated to embarrass my son at any opportunity. Johnny told me what you came to see, and I've got it here." Reaching down, Bunny pulled out another volume marked 'Family History' and set it on the album.
Opening the pages, Bunny turned the thick pages past genealogy charts and patterns of Scottish tartans. Each page seemed to go past decades of history before finally reaching the late 1800s.
"Here we are. Bryce Bravo. Second son of the Bravo Clan, a small family in the highlands. Worked as a highway guard but did his fair share of raiding. By the time he was twenty, he was given the option to leave the country or spend a decade in prison. So, he took the next ship to America with his horse, making landfall just in time to hear the announcement from Steven Steel himself about the Steel Ball Run." Said Bunny.
"Yes, I've read about how he disappeared for a year before making a fortune working with Steven Steel. Does your family have more information about any of that?" Fred asked.
"Not exactly. Well, there might be something back at the family mansion, but I never read anything." Said Bunny.
"I don't think we're going to be allowed to go back up there." Said Daphne, the others nodding in agreement.
Standing up, Velma seemed to command everyone's attention with her silence.
"If we're planning on staying on this case we need to establish what exactly the case is." Velma pulled out a glasses case from her pocket and placed it on the table. Opening it, she pulled out the strange gear and set it atop the picture of Brinsley Bravo.
"Well now, what is that little doohickey?" Bunny Asked, picking up the gear.
"That gear was hidden inside a key that your sister sent us before she died. We have no idea what it goes to or even what it's made of." Velma said.
"What it goes to… I wonder." Bunny stood up and walked out of the room, only to return a moment later with a white box. Inside was the dial she had gotten from Jebedissa.
"May I?" Velma asked, taking the dial from Bunny and examining it for a moment with her magnifying lens.
"They look like they're made of the same material, but the orb is smooth. There's no place for the gear to fit." Daphne said.
"I'm not seeing anything either…" Velma said, blinking as she adjusted the distance on her magnifying lens. For a split second, it seemed like she could see thin lines along the surface of the sphere.
"As for what it's made of. I think I can help you out there too." Bunny said as she motioned for everyone to follow down the hallway leading to the garage.
"Oh, come on Mama, not the garage. That place is a mess." Johnny said, going silent as his mother turned on the light switch.
What was once a mess of boxes full of old props and posters and cobweb-covered workout equipment now looked more like a museum with a Bollywood flair. Movie posters and product advertisements covered the walls and hung from the rafters with what looked like Christmas lights. Faint scents of dried flowers gave the garage a lightly sweet and dry smell.
"Roah, reck rout rall rof rhis." Scooby-Doo said, paws up on a desk with Johnny's portrait upon it, a red dot prominently drawn upon his forehead.
"Yeah, I had a few fans over in India," Johnny said, unable to hide a bashful expression.
"I still don't have this room how I like it. Now let me see where I put it." Bunny said, lifting a tarp from a large shape in the corner of the room. As the dust fell away, a strange device was clearly visible.
"Like, what a strange snow cone maker," Shaggy said.
"It's an electron microscope," Velma said, seeming a little surprised.
"I did this one movie where we were doing stunts in a science lab, at first we were going to get a prop electron microscope, but it turned out to be cheaper to get a real one, so we did that," Johnny said.
Starting up the machine, Bunny handed the gear to Velma and pulled up a chair as they all gathered around. Not even needing a minute to acquaint herself with the device, she had already worked out the lenses and was taking pictures of the metal disc.
"Shouldn't we have safety gear for this?" Daphne asked.
"This is a new design. Just sends out light particles, absolutely safe." Velma said, refining the scopes.
"See anything yet?" Fred asked.
"Turn on the monitor, you should be able to see what I see. This metal is smooth, very smooth, definitely not brass or bronze, it's not like anything I've seen before. Seems to have a hexagonal crystalline structure, but the lines along the surface are too clean, it's too perfect. There's dirt on the surface, but no scratches." Velma sat back and looked up at the monitor with the others.
"Zoinks. Like, does that mean anything?" Shaggy asked.
"It looks pretty advanced, but we don't know who or what made it," Velma said.
"Well aren't you just the prettiest thing I ever saw?" A familiar voice said from behind, before letting out a loud 'meow'.
"I beg your pardon?" Daphne said, turning around to look at the flirtatious yellow cat.
"Don't mean nothing by it, sweetheart. Just dropped by to see Johnny here." Top Cat said, taking off his hat in apology.
"You find something out T.C.?" Johnny asked.
"Sure thing boss. I've had my boys follow-up on your family, there's been a lot of buzz down in Chinatown, we spotted that freak with the purple top hat down there with some dude with skunked hair." Top Cat said.
"Magenta Magenta," Fred said.
"And Cousin Brandon," Johnny added.
Scooby-Doo walked over to sniff Top Cat, unsure what to make of the feline.
"There's this little place that trades in antiquities my kittens have seen them hovering around, a place that does a lot of business with your family company from what I gather." Top Cat traced his paw across a dried flower garland and rubbed his fingers together.
"That's all the proof I need. Magenta is working for our family. Sorry Mama, but I think we're headed back out." Johnny said.
"Tonight? Isn't it a bit late to go." Bunny asked.
"It's barely six o'clock. We can make it down there before they close and figure out what's going on. I promise we'll be back before midnight." Johnny said.
"Well, you are old enough to have your own curfew, so alright." Bunny teased.
"Thanks for your hospitality Mrs. Bravo," Fred said.
"Like, we'll see you around Mrs. B," Shaggy added.
"Oh, please boys, no need to be so formal. Call me Bunny." Bunny said, all too aware of how uncomfortable she had just made the two of them.