"Is it supposed to be making that noise?" Asked Daphne. The whirring of the engine had started with a slight 'whirr' after the escape through the park but had grown progressively louder on their trip back to the Bravo house.
"We're nearly back, I'll have a look at it when we're parked but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Dashboard isn't showing any warning lights." Said Fred.
Daphne remembered Fred and Shaggy installed the engine on their own barely three weeks ago now, and while she decided not to chide Fred about it, she doubted that they had properly connected all the vehicle sensor wires to the engine's computer. This seemed to be the way of things at the moment, an overtaxed engine and no way of knowing what was wrong.
Turning a final corner into the subdivision, Fred pulled the Mystery Machine up to the Bravo House driveway and Daphne took a moment to right herself in her seat in preparation to get onto solid ground again. Letting out a deep breath, she felt her legs wobble ever so slightly, still dizzy from the world turning into a spinning kaleidoscope.
Bracing herself against the hood of the van, she made her way to the front of the car as the front door opened and a very worried Mrs. Bravo practically ran out.
"Oh, you poor dears. They already have footage on the news about you, viral clips of a rampage through the park, like some sort of freak tornado following you - it must have been awful." Said Bunny.
"You know, anything to make the five o'clock news right?" Joked Fred.
Bunny's eyes darted over the two before she took a step back to assess the van. With her balance back, Daphne stood back and noticed what Bunny was looking at - the Mystery Machine was tilting by a good ten degrees.
"You two wait here, I'll be right back." Said Bunny, disappearing into the house.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Fred put on a brave face and walked over to Daphne - never wanting to be a downer, always trying to be upbeat and optimistic. She wondered which of his lines he'd say. Would he lead with a 'it's not as bad as it looks' or perhaps 'don't worry, we'll get this worked out' - and then they'd have a moment where they wouldn't understand one another because Fred would be talking about the Mystery Machine while she was more concerned about them, about Shaggy and Velma and all the things that had been happening. And then he'd apologize for not reading the situation but they'd get interrupted before they could make an emotional breakthrough.
Just as Fred got to the passenger side of the Van, the Garage door opened with a hiss of steam and bright lights shining through the quickly vanishing cloud revealing the silhouette of Mrs Bravo wearing oil-stained overalls above her yoga suit outfit. With work gloves on, a wrench in one hand, and carrying an under-car roller in the other, Bunny strode past Fred and rolled herself under the Mystery Machine.
"Uh, Mrs Bravo, there's no need for you to-" Fred's objection was cut off by the muffled voice of Bunny coming from under the van.
"You two head on inside, have some cookies, and fix up some tea. I won't be but a few minutes under here." Said Bunny, as the sound of grunts and banging metal quickly filled the driveway.
Walking inside, Daphne took a seat at the dining room table and helped herself to a fresh banana oatmeal cookie while Fred filled the tea kettle.
"You have that look on your face Daph," said Fred, "that look that you get when you've had an entire conversation in your head with someone without their input and now you're not certain what to say because you feel like you've already said it."
"Is it that obvious?" Asked Daphne.
"We all do that sometimes, when we're not sure exactly what to say and we think about the best way to explain how we feel, or what we're even thinking. Comes to a point where sometimes it's best not to say anything."
"That's not always the right thing to do. I get that some things need space to develop, for thoughts or feelings to develop properly, but life doesn't always give you that time you need."
Sitting in silence, they waited for Bunny to come in from working on the van. Removing her gloves she washed her face and daintily sat herself down at the head of the table before pouring some of the tea. Savoring the aroma she nodded in approval.
"White Coconut creme - excellent choice." Said Bunny, adding a spoonful of brown sugar to her teacup with a slow stir. "I fixed the shocks on your van and put it back into alignment. As far as the electrics go, it'll take me a couple of hours to get those plugged in properly and check with your van's computer."
A low grunt from Fred confirmed Daphne's suspicion about the incomplete engine installation.
"So, you went down to the old race track to snoop through my Uncle's office. Find anything?" Asked Bunny.
Setting a folder on the table, Fred kept it under his fingers for a moment before looking up.
"Ma'am... err... Mrs. Bra, ugh... Bunny." Fred fumbled at the start, but eventually Bunny nodded in approval. "We had an... interesting meeting with your Uncle, but before we talk about that, I think we need to clear up something."
Fred looked over to Daphne who put down a cookie and nervously tapped the table. Darting a look over to Fred, she rubbed her hands together before placing them on the table to collect herself.
"What exactly is the nature of your estrangement from the rest of your family?" Asked Fred. "When we first met Johnny, your sister called him an 'embarrassment to the family name' if I recall."
"Jebedissa had a frightening temper about her, we quarreled a lot in our youth - oh, no more than most sisters do - but perhaps more than others. She was a year older than me, always had so many expectations made of her, but the truth is she never hated me - she hated our uncle. See, our mother Joy was the firstborn, but our uncle Joshua was the one who inherited the family business. Now our mother didn't mind that too much, she was more into managing charities than businesses, during WWII as a teenager she was the Rubber Drive Queen of Ventura County.
"Mother had my sister and I in her 30s, later than most of her generation. We were living at Edwards Air Force Base when my father died in Vietnam. Captain David Love." Stopping to point up at a photo on the wall of a wedding portrait of a man in dress whites standing next to Mrs. Bravo's mother Joy next to a massive wedding cake.
"If your father's name was Love, why were both you and your sister Bravo?" Asked Fred.
"Oh, it's some family tradition going back to old Scotland. Mother always told me that Father didn't mind. Anyways - long story short. After dad died, Uncle Joshua took a bigger role in running our lives. We moved into that old house in the hills, mother started working for him in land management, the family business or some such - and I saw the spark of life leave her eyes. It's impossible to prove, but somehow I know he worked my mother to death. When Jebedissa started working for him, and she started to change as well - I knew I had to get away." Said Bunny, pulling a switch on her chair, causing the seat to rotate under her, letting her move from side to side in wistful recollection.
Daphne continued to look up at the wall, there were plenty of pictures of Johnny through the years, and a few of old family members in time-aged portraits - but oddly missing was any picture that could have been Johnny's father.
"I was sixteen when I met him, August 15th, 1983 at The Forum in Inglewood. It was the second night of David Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour, and while the Thin White Duke was in rare form, as far as I was concerned he was a distant second to this captivating man I met. Somewhere between 'Breaking Glass' and 'Life on Mars' our eyes locked. Oh, he was handsome, but nothing about him made sense - gold hair that seemed to glow on its own, a black spandex jumpsuit like he came from a gym, and a brown overcoat that was so out of place in a California August that it seemed a desperate attempt to appear incognito.
"I left my seat at the end of 'Sorrow' and tried to get to him during 'Cat People' but he disappeared into the crowd. Didn't spot him again until 'White Light, White Heat'. It was clear he wasn't comfortable in the crowd, truth be told he seemed as much an oddity as Bowie himself - so we found a place in the high rafters away from the crowds during 'Ashes to Ashes' and by the time the band went into 'Space Oddity' I finally got him seated down to ask his name."
"Your memory is that good that you remember the songs?" Asked Fred.
"Strange part is that the next decade was a blur. We eloped, I got pregnant, he disappeared, and Johnny was born. And sure the family saw it all as some scandal, but it was all surreal and strange, like time didn't exist when I was with him." Said Bunny.
"What was his name?" Asked Daphne.
"See, that's the darndest part of it all - he always told me to call him by his nickname, 'Pumpkin'."
"Johnny's dad's name is Pumpkin?" Asked Fred.
"It was good enough for me. Anyways my family never quite accepted Johnny, but I was determined to raise him on my own. I was always ahead of the curve about being a modern woman anyways, single motherhood was no sweat." Said Bunny.
"Mysterious disappeared father - that's why your family hates Johnny?" Asked Daphne. "On the one hand, it's a good thing because your family is dangerous. On the other hand, I doubt it's that simple."
"Wait, you were asking me that? I'm sorry I got distracted. No, Jebedissa hated Johnny because he ran a stampede through the old family crypt. Just a bunch of dusty old bones I always thought, but it was a serious problem." Said Bunny.
Daphne and Fred's eyes locked in horrified realization. The crypt at the old house was where Scooby had gotten that bone was what drew the assassin at the hospital, and was somehow connected to the strange powers they were now experiencing.
Lights flashed across the front window of the house and the sound of another car pulling to the driveway was quickly followed by Johnny and Velma coming to the door. Johnny's clothes were in tatters and Velma was sporting a couple of fresh bandaids from scratches and fresh burn marks had poked holes in her sweater.
"Ooh, cookies." Said Johnny, quickly walking up to the table, pausing to help Velma to her own seat with one hand while snatching up three cookies with his other. Velma gave him a humored smile at the attempted gesture as she sat down.
"Usually when Johnny comes home looking like that, I assume he's come home from another bad date - but from the smile on your face I'm not sure that's the case." Said Bunny as she appraised Velma.
"I wouldn't call exploring an underground railroad beneath a yacht club leading to an old, offshore oil reservoir converted into a supervillain lair to fight with a mad genius to be a date." Said Velma.
"Sounds like a normal Tuesday for us actually." Said Daphne, blinking at the sight of Velma and Johnny she couldn't help but see they each had a strange glow about them and the presence of the purple entity hovered just behind her for a moment before disappearing. Velma was glowing with determined orange while Johnny was a tense electric yellow. Grabbing her head, she focused on her breathing until the room stopped spinning.
"So, Ginger has one too now?" Asked Johnny, nodding over to Daphne.
A hot glare from Velma followed as she sat up and rested her hands against the table.
"The fact that we're dealing with Amanda Waller makes me think that we should be careful about what we talk about. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a few surveillance devices hidden around the house." Said Velma.
"You mean these things?" Said Bunny, standing up she walked over to an old metal tin that once had held Danish butter cookies. Placing it on the table, she opened the lid and revealed over a dozen small transceivers that had been smashed with a hammer. "Do give me more credit than that dear. My family are criminal international smugglers. Even if I don't do business with them, I've learned a thing or two about doing sweeps for surveillance. That and I keep a very tidy home - I know when someone has tampered with my house."
"Is that how you also picked up car computer wiring skills?" Asked Fred.
"I've worked a lot of jobs over the year sweetie." Said Bunny with a wink.
Another car pulled up to the front of the house but did not linger as it sped away, not a moment passed before Scooby-Doo and Shaggy came up to the front door. There was a familiar look to their faces that Daphne had seen a thousand times before, the long-lingering stare from being on the road for too long.
"What's with the thousand-yard stare?" Asked Daphne.
"Well, me and Scoobs just came back from Palmdale. Ran into our old pal, Penelope who drives really fast by the way." Said Shaggy.
"Palmdale? I thought you went up to the Hollywood Hills. Why were you out in Palmdale?" Asked Velma.
"Now I'm sure we all have stories to share about our day, but like... zoinks - how do I even start?" Asked Shaggy.
Stretching out his muzzle, Scooby-Doo blew his lips together and mimicked a whinny.
"Right, we need to talk about a horse." Said Shaggy.