VELMA:
Previously on SCOOBY-DOO!—the gang took a trip to New York City in search of one Egon Spengler, in order to receive some help in figuring out our newfound powers, and ended up gaining a new ally in Scooby's hot-blooded nephew, Scrappy.
And if that wasn't enough we had to solve our first New York mystery and then when we arrived at the firehouse that Dr. Egon lives at we saw a modified old fashioned ambulance driving off on a call and Scooby apparently saw something riding in the back with them. I hope the good doctor can help us, but what exactly we've gotten ourselves into in the meantime is also a mystery...
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
Scooby tiptoes through a mysterious background before he sees a pair of massive yellow eyes, yelps, and scampers off-screen!
HANNA-BARBERA
and
WARNER BROS.
present
The Mystery Machine RV heads out of town, with Scooby sticking his head out the window gleefully.
TRUCK IN through the GPS screen to:
FRED, holding a remote while cages fall around him. His name appears on-screen next to him.
His image appears on a computer screen being held in the lap of VELMA, who shuts it before standing up while adjusting her glasses with a smirk. Her name appears next to her onscreen.
Against a black background, a puppy in a black leather jacket throws punches and bodyslams an imaginary opponent, before standing confidently, his face covered in bruises. This is SCRAPPY.
He is then suddenly picked up by DAPHNE, as she smiles at him while her hair blows in the wind. Scrappy looks bemused, but settles into Daphne's grasp.
JUMP CUT to SHAGGY, piling up a plate of food, before he is startled by a MOTHMAN, screams, and makes a run for it!
The Mothman pulls off his mask, revealing himself to be SCOOBY-DOO in disguise, who chuckles before he grabs a hamburger from the mountain of food & grins.
CUT TO:
A CLOSE-UP of Charlie the robot's eye opening; wide shot as he turns to face the camera.
JUMP CUT TO: CITY — NIGHT
The PTERODACTYL GHOST lands atop a spire, takes a mock bow, and SCREECHES into the air!
CUT TO: BEACH — NIGHT
From the murky depths emerge the DEMON SHARK, CAPT. CUTLER, and the SEA DEMON.
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo gulp, but do their best to stand tough, while Scrappy cracks his knuckles.
CUT TO: WALL OF FLAMES
From what looks like a massive eruption, REVOLTA and GRIM CREEPER emerge, both smirking evilly. [NOTE: This is meant to evoke Frieza's scene in the DBGT Final Bout opening]
DISSOLVE TO:
OVER-THE-SHOULDER VIEW
The Mystery Machine RV drives down a nondescript road, as they are towered over by the massive translucent forms of REVOLTA, SIMONE LENOIR, BEN and SARAH RAVENCROFT, and drive towards an ominous-looking PAIR OF EYES!
[You know, like the ones in the intro for "Where Are You"!]
Come and get involved, till the mystery is solved...HANG AROUND FOR SCOOBY-DOO!
As they drive forward, they disappear in a flash of light as the background is engulfed!
A pair of eyes blink out from the darkness before—
The light flicks on, revealing Scooby and the gang together, along with the Hex Girls, Ruby-Doo, Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman, Sadie-Mae, and the Grimwood Girls.
SHAGGY: That's my pal!
CLOSE-UP of Scooby, grinning next to the logo:
SCOOBY-DOO!
Unmasked
SCOOBY: "ROOBY-ROOBY-ROO!"
He grins, and we...
FADE TO BLACK.
[End intro.]
SCOOBY-DOO! Unmasked
in:
"Extreme Scoobusters"
guest starring the Extreme Ghostbusters
TITLE CARD ART:
Scooby and the gang, all decked out in color-coded jumpsuits and proton packs, zapping a Pizza Delivery Ghost.
FEATURING THE VOICES OF:
MATTHEW LILLARD as Shaggy
SCOTT INNES as Scooby-Doo
CAT TABER as Daphne
TATI GABRIELLE as Velma
JOSH KEATON as Fred
FEATURED VOICES:
JASON RITTER
MAURICE LAMARCHE
PAT MUSICK
TARA STRONG
JASON MARSDEN
RINO ROMANO
ALFONSO RIBIERO
ANIKA NONI ROSE
and NIKA FUTTERMAN
...plus FRANK WELKER as Slimer!
As the Ecto-1 drove past, Scooby caught a glimpse of something green and floating with orange eyes in the back seat. "Hi!" it gibbered as the car drove off.
"Ruh?" Scooby muttered, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"See something, Scoob?" Shaggy asked, noticing his friend's expression.
"...Ri think," Scooby replied, still trying to process what he saw. "Rhat the reck ras that?"
Scrappy shrugged. "Beats me; looked like a green potato," he responded.
"Maybe we can ask Dr. Spengler after we talk to him about what's going on with us." Velma suggested as they parked.
"I just hope we'll be able to see him," replied Fred.
"Only one way to find out; let's go inside," Daphne suggested as she opened the door.
And so, the gang headed into the firehouse. In the front, they found a bespectacled, redheaded woman with cats-eye glasses, dressed in blue, sitting at the front.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Think of Janine's design as a mix of her designs from Extreme Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, and the IDW comics by Dan Schoening.]
"Can I help you?" The woman, Janine Melnintz, asked the gang.
"Hi, I'm Velma Dinkley," said Velma. "And my friends and I were hoping to talk to Dr. Spengler about something."
"Is it a ghost problem?" inquired Janine. "Because if it's not, then I don't think we can help you."
"Well, why wouldn't it be?" asked Scrappy. "I mean, it's kinda why we came here!"
Janine looked at Scrappy with wide eyes before hitting an intercom. "Um, Egon? Could you come and check to see if this puppy in front of my desk is possessed or not?" She requested.
"I'll be right up," Egon replied from his end.
Scrappy blinked for a few seconds and turned back to the gang. "...I get the distinct feeling I might've been insulted," he commented.
"Try not to take it so personally," Daphne suggested. "She probably hasn't been around talking dogs before."
"Reah, raybe," Scooby replied.
"Hmm...highly-developed vocal chords in canines." Egon said as he came up from the basement. "A fascinating phenomenon, but unsure if it could be natural, or the result of possession."
"I can vouch for it bein' natural," Shaggy said. "Scooby's been like that since we met!"
"Fascinating..." Egon declared. "I'm Dr. Egon Spengler, who might you all be?"
And so, each of them introduced themselves to him.
"It's nice to meet you all, but why did you come here?" Egon asked.
"Well, we'd be glad to demonstrate," explained Daphne.
"First, a proper explanation." Velma advised. "Usually, we're a group of mystery solvers that unmask criminals that dress up as fake monsters and ghosts, but not too long ago we encountered real ghosts: Redbeard the Pirate and his crew, and then we seemingly developed some sort of powers," she explained.
Egon pondered this for a moment. "I've heard about Redbeard in Tobin's Spirit Guide and that he could be summoned and dispelled by the use of his prized sword," he mentioned. "However, humans and dogs developing powers isn't completely new to me...but what would be interesting is determining the cause of them. I have some equipment that should help, as well as knowing about an open space that we can do some testing in, so I can study your powers and determine their source."
"Hey, if you can, that'd be great!" Fred nodded.
"We'll wait for my team to return and then we'll get set up," Egon advised. "I'll need their input on this as well."
"...alright," nodded Fred.
"Sounds reasonable to me," Shaggy again. "You, like, got anything to eat around here while waiting?"
"I think there's some leftover pizza in the fridge," Janine mentioned.
"Well, there was. Slimer got to it this morning," Egon revealed.
"Then, I guess not," Janine corrected.
"Nuts!" Scooby remarked, snapping his paw-fingers in frustration.
"Who's this Slimer guy?" Scrappy asked.
"Slimer was the first ghost ever captured by the Ghostbusters; he ended up deciding to stay here, though he volunteered to let me study him while also being a big help throughout the years," Egon explained. "He got his name because of how he leaves a slimy trace of ectoplasm whenever he touches something or phases through something. He's currently out with the team capturing a level-5 poltergeist from a grocery store."
"Ohhhh," responded Shaggy and Scooby, nodding in understanding.
"A ghost who helps ghost-catchers," Shaggy commented. "Like, how about that!"
"Ro kidding!" Scooby responded.
Suddenly they heard the doors open as the ECTO-1 returned from the aforementioned mission.
"That must be them now," said Janine.
"It is." Egon confirmed as the team got out of the vehicle.
First out was Roland Jackson.
"Well...tonight was interesting," he commented.
"You're tellin' me," Garrett Miller added as he got out and into his wheelchair.
"Second time I ever met anything that ate more than green gills over here," Eduardo Riviera commented, gesturing to Slimer.
"Yeah, and he's already impossible to completely stuff," The last member, Kylie Griffin, declared as she got out before Slimer came out.
He gibbered something, before he turned and saw Scooby and Scrappy. "Nyaaaagh!" he shrieked before he turned and flew off.
"You'll have to excuse Slimer," Egon advised. "He had a bad experience with a dog once and he's been having trouble around them ever since."
"I guess that's fair," shrugged Scrappy. "Alright, let's get these tests goin'!"
Once Egon explained the situation to his team, they got the equipment ready and met the gang.
"So you're the guys who drive around with the talking dog," said Eduardo. "...cool, I guess."
"It's some serious science to find dogs that can actually talk, regardless of speech impairments," Kylie mentioned.
"Hey! Uncle Scooby's not impaired!" Scrappy defended. "He talks just fine!"
"I never mean any offense when I mention it, but to us humans Scooby uses a lot of R sounds whenever he talks." Shaggy mentioned and Scooby nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and sometimes it's difficult to understand unless you know the context," Fred added.
"I've known Scooby the longest and I've been trying to help, but I think it's, like, just one of those things that can't be fixed," Shaggy explained. "Doesn't mean that I'll care about him any less than I already do."
"Aw..." Scooby smiled; at least he didn't feel too bad about his speech impediment.
"Anything else before we give this training thing a shot?" Velma asked.
"Merely a possible identification of what you were all capable of doing," Roland suggested. "Maybe it'll be accurate or similar to what the name of your powers are."
"Well, I can run really quickly," said Shaggy.
"Ri get rig and growly!" Scooby added, before he stood up and made snarling noises.
"Possibly a case of super speed and sounds almost like reverse lycanthropy." Egon suggested.
"Could be," Kylie agreed.
"I can shapeshift," said Daphne.
"I have telepathy!" Velma added.
"Both sound interesting." Roland admitted.
"I'm definitely getting curious about how this works, too," Garrett declared.
"And I have an energy tunnel," Fred finished.
"An energy tunnel?" Eduardo asked.
"There's probably more to it than that..." Egon suggested. "We'll begin testing now, so who's first?"
"I'll go for it," Daphne volunteered.
"Very well then, let's begin." Egon said as the equipment was turned on and they started taking information.
So, Daphne concentrated...and she shifted between three forms...a witch, a sea serpent...and even a different art style [specifically that of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo]...before changing back!
"Hmm." Egon hummed as they checked the collected data. "It's genuine shapeshifting and apparently it's connected to a strange energy that's irradiating all over your body." He explained while in thought. "I have a possible theory about what that energy is, but I need to check the others first."
thunderskull22 — 06/23/2024 10:42 PM
Next up was Fred.
"Hmm, considering that you need something to catch, we'll need some help..." Egon said before looking around. "Slimer!"
In a sudden ZIIIP, Slimer arrived on the scene. "You rang?" he chirped.
"We need your help to test something," Egon informed him. "It shouldn't cause you any harm, but if you do experience any sort of discomfort let us know right away."
"Oh-kay!" Slimer nodded.
"Please float in front of Fred," Egon requested.
Slimer nodded as he went over to Fred.
"You may try it on Slimer," Egon told Fred.
"Alright," said Fred, as he got into position and tried to activate his ability, putting his hands out. A moment later, he made the vortex appear and Slimer was caught up in it.
"GAAAAAAH!" Slimer shrieked as he got pulled into the vortex.
After they got some readings, they asked Fred to stop. Fred put his hands down, and the vortex dissipated, leaving Slimer spinning and swirled like he'd been stuck in a cotton candy machine.
"Bleeaughhh..." groaned Slimer as his eyes spun in his head. He looked a bit more green than usual, which is saying something.
"Interesting development," Egon said while checking the readings.
"Thanks," responded Fred.
"You're welcome," Egon replied. "Next, please."
Up next was Velma, who looked pretty eager to demonstrate.
"Proceed, please," Egon requested.
Velma nodded as she stepped up and began to concentrate, inhaling and exhaling through her nostrils as she shut her eyes.
The scanning equipment started picking something up. Egon took a look at it as Velma's energy began lifting a nearby table a few feet off the ground.
"Mm-hmm, very intriguing..." Egon declared as he checked the equipment with the others. "That's enough for now."
Velma gradually ceased her concentration, and lowered the table to the ground.
"Next, please," Egon requested.
So Shaggy stepped up to the proverbial plate.
"I think a treadmill or a giant wheel would help," Roland suggested.
"I don't suppose you have one of those on hand?" Shaggy asked.
"Actually, we have a treadmill in the basement," Egon mentioned. "We'll go get it."
AND SO, A LITTLE LATER...
The treadmill was brought up from the basement, and Shaggy got onto it.
"Begin," Egon told Shaggy.
Shaggy started running for a bit on the treadmill. Eventually, he started picking up speed. Soon, his feet were blurry, spinning wheels as the treadmill was having trouble keeping up with him; it was sparking and sputtering, generating smoke.
"Okay, that's good enough!" Egon called over the noise.
Shaggy came screeching to a halt as he stopped running, though his feet were still smoking. "Yeeow!" he yelped before he hopped up and down. "Like, where's a bucket of water when ya need one?"
"I'd recommend special heat-resistant shoes, but otherwise we have what we need." Egon explained. "Thank you and who's next?"
"Ri am!" Scooby called.
"Very well, then," Egon replied.
So Scooby stepped up, and strained a few times. "Rorry...I don't know how to turn it on," he explained. "It just rappens."
"When you did do it, what were you feeling?" Egon asked. "Think back to the moment and picture it in your mind."
Scooby took a deep breath, and felt himself getting angry. And with it, there came his transformation. He grew bigger, hairier, and gained fangs.
That got the machines running as they picked up the massive readings.
"Okay...that looks like something we'd see on a GOOD day!" Eduardo remarked, surprised.
"Completely remarkable," Egon said with interest. "That's enough now."
Scooby then proceeded to take a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. Key word being tried...after all, he wasn't used to this form.
"Can the puppy do the same?" Garrett asked.
"Nope, his ability is different...and not fully manifested yet," Velma explained.
"Any idea on what it is?" Egon asked.
"It might be some sort of strength ability," responded Velma. "But we aren't sure how to bring it out."
"What was he doing when it happened?" Kylie asked.
"Well, he punched a larger dog in the nose," replied Fred. "But we don't know if it reacts as a response to being in danger."
"Hmm, Scrappy, right?" Kylie asked Scrappy.
"Yeah?" Scrappy asked.
"What were you thinking and feeling when you did what you did?" Kylie asked.
"Well...I dunno, but I did feel really mad at Big Zeke for what he did," Scrappy said. "But I guess I wasn't that angry, just mad. It probably wasn't enough."
"I theorize that for dogs it requires an empathetic catalyst," Kylie told Egon.
"Hmm, you might be right," Egon agreed. "Scrappy, could you try making yourself as mad as possible and hit that punching bag in the corner?"
"Hmm...I can give it a shot," responded Scrappy as he went over to the punching bag. He tried to concentrate, but as he wound up, it didn't do much good.
"Maybe he needs someone to make him mad?" Eduardo asked.
"Like external stimuli?" Roland responded.
"Yeah...in order to make the bear mad, ya gotta poke 'im," Eduardo remarked.
"Any volunteers?" Egon asked. "I've done my share of that plenty and almost got run over a couple of times."
"I nominate Eduardo," Garrett said.
"Why me?" Eduardo asked in annoyance.
"Well, you're pretty good at getting under my skin," Kylie smirked.
"...true," Roland nodded.
"Alright, fine, I'll give it a try." Eduardo said as he got behind the punching bag. "But if something gets torn off me, I told you so in advance."
So he cleared his throat and went for it.
"How come they call you Scrappy? They should've just called you scrap, because that's whatcha look like...a little scrap of cloth cut off from a whole piece!" he began.
Scrappy looked a little bemused, but not too affected.
"I mean, how could you hurt anyone?" Eduardo continued. "I bet...when people see you, they can't help but talk about how cute you are!"
That lit a tiny spark.
"Watch it with that 'cute' talk!" Scrappy snapped. "Cute doesn't get respect!"
"There's the sore point," said Egon. "It simply needs to be agitated further."
"Are you sure it's not just because you find him uninteresting? Because he's not a very good heckler," Scrappy told Kylie.
"Hey, cut me a break, I barely know you, I'm working with what I've got!" Eduardo responded, a little miffed. "If anyone else wants to try, go ahead."
Suddenly, the alarm sounded off.
"Later," Egon advised. "It's time to get to regular work."
"Okay, so what exactly can we do to help?" asked Fred.
"Hmm, maybe you could go and observe and see how we handle things," Egon suggested. "No doubt you might find it interesting and there are times where a mystery is involved."
"Well...okay," Fred responded.
"Wow...observing the Ghostbusters at work!" Velma exclaimed, awestruck. "This is going to be so fascinating!"
"And gone if you don't get a move on," Egon advised as the others were already going down the pole.
"Oh! Right!" Velma said as she scurried over and slid down the pole right after the others. The Ghostbusters got ready quickly before getting into the Ecto-1, and the Gang proceeded to follow behind as quickly as they could while heading out on the road again.
Ecto-1 had its lights blaring as they drove to the place that called them and to their surprise, it was a jewelry store.
"How come we're here?" asked Daphne. "...not that I'm complaining."
"You'd be surprised where ghosts can drop in," Garrett responded.
"Yeah, and with these readings it's either a big one or more than one," Roland said as he checked his PKE meter.
"Okay, guys, you stay close," Kylie told the gang before turning to her team. "And you guys? Let's move it."
They all nodded as they went inside...and spotted ghost cats swiping jewels and jewelry.
"Rhost rats!" Scooby exclaimed, before he started to growl.
"Those are...ah, my bad." Garrett apologized.
Scooby shrugged it off and jumped out of the Ecto-1.
The Ghostbusters grabbed their proton packs and a couple of traps and headed in further. As they did, they spotted the ghost cats nearby, raiding the jewelry cabinets.
"Alright, time to put the cats out!" Garrett exclaimed.
"Let's get them." Eduardo said as they fired their proton streams and tried to catch the ghost cats. However, the cats were too quick to be fired at, and darted out of the way every time they tried to get them with the proton streams.
"Man, these things are as agile as REAL cats!" exclaimed Kylie. "Which makes it impossible to tag them with the proton streams!"
"Set up the traps!" Roland suggested. "Let's try and catch them as they run around!"
Kylie tossed out the traps at that. "Got 'em out!" she exclaimed.
"Open them!" Roland called as the cats were getting close.
Kylie hit the button, and the traps shot open simultaneously. Some of the cats were caught, but then one big cat gathered up the loot and escaped.
"Two down, one to go," said Eduardo.
"It got away, but we'll be ready for it," Garrett declared.
"Hopefully," nodded Fred.
"Let's head back and try to figure out what exactly we're dealing with," Kylie suggested. "There's no way that cat ghosts would just randomly raid a jewelry store."
So, they got back into the Ecto-1 and headed back to the firehouse. Once they returned, they informed Egon of what they had found.
"Hmm...ghost cats..." mused Egon. "I'll need to check for anything related to that."
"In the meantime, you know where they go," Janine mentioned. "I'll also keep an ear out for them on the phone."
"Right," nodded Egon as he took the trap down to the containment unit.
At that moment, Kylie was looking through the computer files of Tobin's Spirit Guide.
Velma poked her head over her shoulder after a while. "Find anything?" she inquired.
"Here's the possible answer," Kylie said as she found something. "The Scepter of Bastet."
"Fascinating!" Velma exclaimed. "Bastet was a feline goddess of Egyptian mythology."
"In this line of work, you don't say "was" you say "is", because Egon and his old team and even us have seen those considered as gods while on the job." Kylie explained.
"...okay, good point," Velma nodded. "And sorry."
"Don't sweat it," Kylie replied. "It's not the first time we met a skeptic that's just recently opening up to the possibilities that things in myths, legends, and fairy tales are real."
"Okay, so just what does that scepter do?" Fred inquired.
"It allows whoever wields it to summon cat spirits to do their bidding," Kylie explained as she examined the information. "It also says that Bastet herself has been looking for it for a while and will come for it once its powers have been used nine times."
"We need to look into history and see if anything similar has happened before," Egon advised. "If the scepter has been used before then it could only be a matter of time until the goddess herself comes looking for it."
"Alright, then," said Fred. "Let's get searching."
"What about Scrappy's whole situation from earlier?" Velma asked.
"I think we'll have to take an approach that I'm not too fond of in order to achieve any results." Egon suggested.
"And that would be...?" Daphne asked.
"Putting Scooby in what seems like immediate danger." Egon revealed.
"...and you're sure we couldn't go back to the heckling thing?" Shaggy asked, hesitation clear in his tone. "I mean, we might've been making some progress there..."
"Know someone else?" Eduardo asked. "Because I clearly couldn't get a reaction out of him."
"Well, maybe you weren't the right person for it," said Daphne. "Anyone else wanna take a whack at it?"
"I'll take a crack at it," Garrett offered. "I always did live for the rush."
"Remember, he doesn't like being called cute, and he's very self-conscious about being small," informed Daphne.
"Got it," Garrett nodded as he shook his arms. "That's all the ammo I need."
And so, he got started. "Hey, pipsqueak, what's a tiny thing like you doing in a place like this?" he taunted Scrappy. "Better move along, this is where the big dogs work."
Scrappy raised a brow. "So I'm little, big deal! Think I can't handle it?" he shot back.
"Bring it, shrimp," Garrett replied. "I'll put you in the purse that you belong in."
That set him off. "PURSE?!" Scrappy bellowed, his eyes wide with anger.
"That's where all cute little poochies like you belong," Garrett told him before ducking.
"GGGGRRRRRAAAAGH!" Scrappy yelled as he lunged and swung...
KRA-KOOM!
...straight through the wall, leaving a backpack-sized hole.
"And that concludes the tests," Egon declared before the alarm sounded. "We'll talk about the results after taking care of business."
Scrappy sat up and shook his head a few times. "...whoa...what happened?" he groaned.
"Your powers finally activated, thank you very much," Garrett replied. "And we've proven that Eduardo only annoys Kylie."
"...I did THAT?" Scrappy asked, awestruck while the others went out to learn what the alarm was about.
"You, like, sure did!" Shaggy confirmed while everyone went down the pole.
"...gosh..." Scrappy gasped as he sat, amazed at his own newfound power, while the others headed off.
"Need some time to take all that in?" Janine asked.
"...yeah, I guess..." Scrappy nodded.
"Stick around with me, kiddo," Janine suggested. "I do more work than just pick up the phones around here."
"I guess I can do that," nodded Scrappy.
Back with the others, they were getting filled in on where their next call was coming from; this time, it was another jewelry store.
"ANOTHER one?" asked Eduardo. "Either we're dealing with a ghost who's got an eye for the finer things..."
"Or whoever's summoning them does," finished Velma.
"We should look into known thieves with a cat theme," Fred suggested. "Considering our line of work, we just might be dealing with a genuine cat burglar."
"You think so?" mused Garrett.
"Trust me when I say it's a possibility, because it is." Daphne advised.
"...eh, why not?" Garrett shrugged. "We have dealt with yahoos who summon ghosts for either revenge or profit. Sometimes both."
"So let's go try and stop this one," Kylie suggested.
So they got into Ecto-1 and drove off to wherever the location was. It turned out it wasn't just a jewelry store, but also a major diamond exchange.
"Hopefully we'll be able to do more this time around," said Velma.
"We've taken a few precautions this time," explained Roland, revealing that he had a leaf blower with him and a bag of something.
Velma and Daphne nodded, as they headed into the diamond exchange. As they entered, they saw the culprits were a bunch of ghost panthers taking the baubles.
"Ghost panthers?" asked Kylie.
"Heeere, kitty kitty..." Garrett said as he readied his proton blaster.
"Hmm, I think I might have an idea of a possible suspect." Velma mentioned.
"Yeah?" asked Shaggy. "And like, who would that be?"
"The most infamous thief in the world, Catwoman." Velma revealed.
"Catwoman?" asked the others. [Also, pretty sure there are more infamous thieves...so that claim is a bit incredulous.]
"I'll explain back at the firehouse." Velma told them as she got inside.
So, while the drone followed, the Ecto-1 turned and headed back to the firehouse.
After returning, they spotted Egon and Scrappy at the front.
"We found something!" Scrappy declared.
"But as for you all, was it the cats again?" Egon asked.
"For starters, it was, but they were panthers," said Daphne. "Second, go ahead, what did you find?"
"We found evidence of ghost cats appearing before and the count was officially six," Egon explained.
"But add in the one that happened earlier, and this recent one and that's eight," Scrappy added.
"One more time and Bastet will come," explained Egon. "And once that happens, there's no doubt she will destroy anything and everything that gets in her way of reclaiming the scepter." Egon pointed out.
"Then we have to find whoever's got the scepter before Bastet comes a-knockin'," said Garrett.
"Actually, I have reason to believe that Catwoman has the scepter and has been using it," Velma pointed out. "The clues all fit: from cat themed to robbing jewelry stores and diamond exchanges."
"So all we need is to track her down," said Kylie. "Hopefully Roland's drone did its work."
"Looks like it did," Roland declared as he got a fix on its location. "She's in the penthouse suite of the fanciest hotel here."
"Then let's move it, guys," said Fred. "This case is almost wrapped up!"
"And the city is in danger!" Scrappy mentioned.
"Then we'd better move it," said Daphne as she picked him up and headed out to the van.
So, with both teams in their vans, they headed out to the Ritz-Carlton in Central Park. After a while, they eventually arrived.
"She's up in the penthouse suite." Roland reminded them. "We might need someone to go up and keep an eye on her."
"I believe our good buddy Slimer can help with that," Garrett suggested as Slimer came out of Ecto-1.
"Aye-aye!" he gave a sloppy salute.
"Go check out the penthouse, okay, slimeball?" asked Eduardo.
"Uh-huh!" Slimer nodded, before he shot up into the air.
"Some of us take the elevator, while the rest should get the stairs," Kylie suggested.
"As much as I'd love the chance to go up the stairs, kinda obvious I'm in the elevator," Garrett mentioned.
"I'll go in the elevator too," Velma advised.
"OK, we'll split up," said Fred. "Half of us will take the stairs, the other half will take the elevator."
"That's the plan, bucko," Garrett said as he got into the elevator.
Fred shrugged before he ran for the staircase. Scrappy was going to join him, but due to his short legs, he had to get in Daphne's arms while she ran up the stairs as well.
Eventually, both parties arrived at the top floor, and rushed the penthouse within minutes. To their surprise, it seemed empty.
"Ten bucks says she's taking a cat nap," Eduardo said.
"You're on." Garrett agreed.
"I guess they're always like this?" Daphne asked Kylie.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Kylie remarked dryly.
As they searched around, they made it to the bedroom and found Catwoman taking a nap. Garrett handed over his money before Catwoman woke up.
"We've got you cornered, to put it simply," said Fred.
"Reah!" Scooby added as he and Scrappy growled fiercely.
"What's this now?" Catwoman asked as she held up the scepter. "Looks like I need my cuties to take care of you."
"More like you'd better hand that over," said Velma. "Before Bastet comes looking for it."
"As if I'm going to listen to you," Catwoman said as she activated the scepter and summoned a giant black cat.
"Golly!" exclaimed Fred.
"Jeepers!" Daphne remarked.
"Jinkies!" said Velma.
"ZOINKS!" Shaggy gulped.
"Ruh-roh!" Scooby gasped.
"Ruff and double-ruff!" Scrappy commented.
Suddenly the sky went dark, clouds began to swirl, and PKE meters went off.
"...looks like we're about to have company," said Roland.
"That was definitely the ninth use," Velma declared. "We need to get that scepter for when Bastet arrives."
"...GRAB IT!" shouted Fred.
Within seconds, Daphne picked up Scrappy and tossed him at the scepter, which he snagged in his teeth.
"Got it!" Scrappy called...right before it shocked him and forced him to let it go. "YEEE-OWWW!"
"Foolish little doggy," Catwoman said as she took it back. "A dog can't touch what belongs to a cat."
"Now you tell me..." Scrappy wheezed as he fell over.
"Sorry..." said Daphne. "It was a split-second decision."
"Honestly, it should've been obvious, but oh well." Catwoman replied. "I'd better get out of here." She said before suddenly noticing she wasn't holding the scepter anymore.
"Like, not with this!" Shaggy declared, palming the scepter.
"Look alive, guys!" said Garrett as the skies rumbled. "Here comes Bastet."
Then, as a doorway of light opened, a humanoid figure with a cat head entered the room.
"Still not a believer?" asked Velma. "Or is that enough proof?"
Everyone else was silent with shock and awe.
"Give me my scepter," Bastet demanded in a calm yet firm tone.
"Like, no problem!" Shaggy agreed as he handed it over.
"Thank you," Bastet replied.
"You're welcome!" Daphne responded as the cat goddess took her leave. And once she did, everything taken was returned—as though it had never happened.
"So whaddo we do with her?" asked Kylie, gesturing to Selina.
"Alas, that's not part of our job," Egon admitted.
"Plus, we don't have any evidence to tie her to the thefts, Velma pointed out.
"...guess we better leave, then," Shaggy shrugged.
"Sure," Garrett agreed. "I'm gettin' tired of this place anyway."
So, the groups left the penthouse, leaving Selina by herself. She was upset that she lost everything, but she was rather intrigued by the group that weren't carrying heavy equipment.
"Maybe I should look into them for later..." Selina said with interest. That would definitely make things interesting in the near future.
AND SO, BACK AT THE FIREHOUSE...
The gang was gathered in the basement, eager to learn what Egon had discovered.
"So, what did you find out, Dr. Spengler?" asked Velma.
"Your powers are all caused by an energy known as mana," Egon explained. "It's also known as magical energy, but apparently dogs require strong emotions in order to use theirs."
"Looks like my theory was correct," Kylie declared.
"Alright, so what exactly do we do?" Fred inquired. "We definitely need some way to bring it out when it's necessary."
"My advice is find someone that knows how to use mana more properly and ask them to teach you," Egon advised. "As knowledgable as I am about the occult, ghosts, and the science behind catching and containing them, I'm sadly at a loss on the knowledge of using mana."
"Then I guess that'll be our next quest," replied Daphne. "Thanks again, regardless."
Suddenly, Shaggy got an idea. "Excuse me, Dr. Egon, sir?" he asked.
"Yes?" Egon replied.
"Could mana, like, able to be used through a wand?" Shaggy poised.
"Well a wand can become a conduit for mana, so yes," Egon confirmed.
"Raggy...rhat are rou proposing?" asked Scooby.
"Remember our old buds, the Hex Girls?" Shaggy asked.
"Reah! Reah!" Scooby nodded.
"Know somebody that can help?" Kylie asked.
"Like, it's a long shot, but yes," Shaggy vocalized.
"If this could work...then we're willing to try," replied Velma. "Our old friends, the Hex Girls, could be a big help."
"The Hex Girls?" Kylie exclaimed, awed.
"You're a fan?" Daphne asked.
Kylie pulled out a flyer of the band. "Any chance you can get them to sign it?" She requested.
"We'll see what we can do," Velma replied as she folded it up and pocketed it.
"Thanks," Kylie replied.
"Here's a few things for if you ever come across another situation involving real ghosts again." Egon said as he gave them a few standard pieces of equipment for Ghostbusters, except the proton pack and traps. "Unfortunately, the proton packs require high maintenance and the traps require being emptied before used again, so I can't give you any of them this time."
"That's alright," said Shaggy. "We don't exactly have the training for those anyways."
"Neither did I when my old team first used them." Egon mentioned with a small smile. "Sometimes you just have to charge into these things."
"...sounds a lot like us," Fred replied. "But thanks for the help, at least."
"You're welcome," Egon replied.
"Now we know what we have and we have a possible way to help ourselves," Velma pointed out.
"All we have to do is track down the Hex Girls," Fred declared.
Daphne checked her phone for a few minutes, before she looked up. "Well, it's the off season for the Hex Girls, so they're probably at their vacation home," she explained. "However, I think we can make it there, but it'll take us a while."
"Then in that case, we should have a decent amount of time to make stops along the way!" Shaggy beamed.
"Sounds good to me!" Scrappy agreed.
"And if you need any help, feel free to call us," Roland suggested.
"I wouldn't mind a social call, either," Janine mentioned.
"Rhen count on it!" smiled Scooby.
A while later, both groups said their goodbyes and the gang got their stuff ready to go as they piled back into the RV.
"Ree ya rater!" Scooby called, as the RV pulled away from the firehouse, and headed towards the next adventure.
Even Slimer waved goodbye!
And now the gang was off on their way once more. Who knows what else could be next? Only one way to find out, and I'm not telling.
"SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOO!" Scooby howled.
(Fade Out.)
