Chapter 22: A new name and a new beginning
February 14, 1969
That morning, it was business as usual at Coolsville Central High School, other than the fact that the back area of the school library has been sealed off by crime scene tape as the police seized the counterfeit equipment in the hidden bomb shelter.
The Coolsville Gazette also had the following headline:
"TEENAGE SLEUTHS OF COOLSVILLE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL UNCOVERS COUNTERFEIT RING
Former chemistry teacher Alice Marcell and two wanted robbers taken into police custody, facing charges of fraud, larceny while former chemistry teacher also faces a charge of attempted murder"
The headline was accompanied by a photo of the gang taken at the front entrance of the school with the following caption:
"From left to right: New Mysteries Five comprising of Frederick 'Fred' Jones, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers & Scoobert 'Scooby' Doo: The sleuths that uncovered the counterfeit ring at Coolsville Central High School"
The presence of the gang's photo in the headlines made them famous and popular in school, even to the point where the Mysteries Five commented that their reputation may get superseded by the gang someday.
"I still find it hard to believe we actually solved a mystery yesterday." Fred remarked as they met up with the Mysteries Five that morning.
"You guys sure did a great job, Fred." Mike commented as he shook Fred's hand.
"Yeah." W.W. agreed. "You guys sure showed those crooks!"
"Well, the only thing is, I'm not sure if we'll like to get into 'mystery-solving' fully." Daphne said. "Especially after what had happened yesterday."
"Yeah, with that former chemistry teacher pulling a gun on us, I sure don't want to risk my neck and end up on the wrong end of a weapon!" Shaggy agreed.
"Reah! Reah!" Scooby agreed.
"Well, you guys were lucky that you were able to walk away from that unharmed." Ronnie said to them. "But what really amazed us is how you guys managed to disarm those fiends before you could get blasted."
"Yeah." Linda nodded. "Where did all of that come from?"
Daphne was quick to say, "Maybe the guys and I have been watching one too many action movies as of late."
"Yeah, and add in Scoob and I being big fans of the Green Hornet and the likes of the Blue Scarab and Commander Cool, which has plenty of action, it just happened." Shaggy added.
"Rand rone of ry favourite martial arts movie star, Bruce Lee!" Scooby piped in.
"Yes, ever since Shag and Scoob's been invited to Henry's place and watch movies, Scooby has become a big fan of Bruce Lee." Daphne added.
"And don't forget Scooby's favourite hero, El Sabueso." Shaggy said.
"That makes sense, but still, the way you guys' disarmed Marcel really came out of nowhere." W.W. spoke.
"It did." Shaggy nodded. He didn't offer anything further.
"But anyways, have you guys ever fear ending up at the wrong end of a firearm during a mystery?" Fred asked the Mysteries Five.
"Well, there has been times where we did consider the risks of ending up at the wrong end of a firearm during a mystery." Ronnie replied. "But no matter what our fears were, we know that there's always something fishy about those legends we encountered or heard about, and we know that from past experience, there are always ways to prevent yourselves from ending up on the wrong side of the weapon."
"Such as?" Velma asked.
"Such as always anticipate your opponent's next moves." Kelly says. "Observe them, particularly after unmasking them. Make sure they don't have any tricks up their sleeves and anticipate what they might do if you notice some tricks."
"And use your surrounding environment to your advantage." W.W. added. "There's always something out there that may help you get out of a mess; in case the culprit manages to escape or makes a desperate move to turn the tables."
The gang all nodded understandingly as they took note of that.
"Well, other than the close call, gang." Fred said. "Did you guys enjoy the adventure we went through?"
"If you ask me, I'd say it was groovy." Velma replied. "Us doing detective work, especially with the fingerprint observations that was made."
"Not to mention that we did help the police discover a counterfeiting ring." Daphne added.
"Or discovering important clues and piece them together, as well as capturing those three spooks!" Shaggy added.
"Reah! Capture them!" Scooby barked.
"I'm sure glad you guys had fun." Fred smiled. "Speaking of us, what name should we go with as a team if we were to run into another mess?"
"One thing for sure is that I don't want the 'New Mysteries Five' name." Velma suggested. "Too much like the Mysteries Five."
"Yeah." Linda agreed. "That name makes it easy for you guys to get confused for us."
"Maybe we can go with 'Teen Solvers'." Daphne suggested.
"A little too close to 'Teen Angels'." Fred replied.
"Perhaps 'Scooby and the Meddlers'?" Velma asked.
"Well, I don't know." W.W. said. "The title is too long, and it sounds similar to 'Josy and the Pussycats'."
"Your group name should be short but memorable." Ronnie suggested.
As Shaggy and Scooby looked around, the latter saw an advertisement poster from a certain company.
"Rey Raggy!" Scooby says, pointing to the poster.
Shaggy turned towards where Scooby was pointing at and saw the company name, which ended with "Inc."
"Like, Acme Inc..." Shaggy thought for a while before snapping his fingers. "That's it! 'Mystery Inc.'!"
"'Mystery Inc.'?" Daphne asked. "Sounds like a groovy name to me, Shag."
"Yeah." W.W. agreed. "Short but sounds catchy."
"Sounds alright to me, Shag." Ronnie said as everyone else nodded.
"Then it's settled, gang." Fred said. "From now on, we'll be known as 'Mystery Inc.'"
"You're a genius, Shaggy." Velma said.
"Like, the credit goes to Scooby Doo." Shaggy replied. "He was the one that directed me to that advertisement poster with the 'Inc.' name on it."
"You sure know how to come up with good names, Scooby." Daphne said as she rubbed Scooby's back.
"Rawwwww." Scooby smiled as Daphne rubbed his back.
A short while later, during lunch period, the gang and their friends have finished up lunch and were chatting away at their tables.
"Did Neil and his pals found out where the ventilation pipe leads to yesterday, Scooby?" Biff asked.
"Rhey rid. Reil and ris rang round that re ventilation ripe reads to re rym." Scooby nodded before he produced some photos and added. "Rand reck out rese photos from reir climb rup."
The group all took turns looking at the photos Scooby produced, and Dee-Dee was the first to say, "There are more ballot papers from the costume contest vote."
"And that's not all." Shelly spoke as she held up one photo. "Does the paper in this photo look familiar to you?"
Biff, Fred, and April looked, then the latter exclaimed, "If I am not mistaken, I think that is the missing page from the ledger that got torn out."
"Res, rand rey recovered rit." Scooby added. "Rey've asked re ro reet up rith rem in re principal's roffice."
"Sounds like that's where we're heading." Shaggy declared.
The others all nodded as they got up from their seats and headed out of the cafeteria.
When they arrived at Principal Spears' office, they did not expect to see Alice, Gary, and Ethan there. Neil and his gang were already in the office alongside Droopy and McWolf with the latter two explaining things to the principal. Upon seeing Scooby with the others, the principal paused and said, "Well, it looks like you kids have arrived just in time."
"Just in time for what, Principal Spears?" Brenda asked, although judging from how ashen Alice, Gary, and Ethan's faces looked, she and the others have a very good idea of what they have just walked into, given the sheet of paper sitting on the principal's desk, which the group quickly recognized as the recovered page from the student council's ledger.
"In time for Gary to admit to misplacing student council funds and that the winnings from the bets he made at a luxury casino resort was his way to return the missing money before anyone got wiser on what had happened." Spears spoke as he glared at the trio.
"Hence the page being torn out from the ledger." Taffy spoke.
"That's right, I didn't want anyone to panic about the missing money." Gary spoke.
"Well, it's all and good that you've admit to misplacing the money and was trying to return it, Gary." Fred said with his arms folded. "But covering it up by tearing out the page from the ledger just wouldn't fly, not to mention it's very careless of you to hide the ledger in your locker."
"And though Gary had admitted to misplacing the money, I remain unsatisfied with his, Ethan, and Alice's explanations on how the money got misplaced in the first place." Spears spoke.
"Maybe this misplacement of the money didn't occur on their end, Principal Spears." Daphne offered.
"Yeah, maybe it happened at the new bank where the money got deposited at." Shaggy added. "Crystal Pacific Bank."
"Only that there was a good promotion going on for any new accounts opened there." Alice said. "Surely-"
"I'm afraid that won't let you three off the hook for what appears to be a clear lack of judgement." Spears cut in sharply.
Gary, Ethan, and Alice simply exhaled.
"Not to mention we have clear evidence that there was ballot-stuffing in place at the costume contest during the Halloween party." Tinker spoke.
"Yes, especially those discarded ballot boxes we found in the abandoned bomb shelters." Clam spoke.
"It was mighty convenient to have a ventilation pipe that a ballot box can fit through at the gym for the good ol' switcheroo." Shaggy added. "A switch with a stuffed ballot boxes where the voting results have been predetermined."
"And when we collect fingerprints from the discarded ballot boxes, what are the chances the freshest set of fingerprints belongs to either one of you?" Henry said.
The trio did not speak, but it was clear from the deflated looks on their faces that the game is up.
Without a word, Scooby walked over to Ethan and Gary and tore out the student president and vice president pins from their respective shirt collars. The Great Dane then glared at them.
"Ronsider rourselves rimpeached." Scooby growled at them with a glare.
Later that afternoon, after school, the group met up together as usual before walking home together.
"I must say that was a satisfying conclusion to our saga about the missing page from the student council ledger and the rigged vote at the Halloween party costume contest." Shelly spoke.
"Yes indeed." Debbie nodded. "Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people."
"The impeachment vote has yet to be held, but based on what we've gathered, it looks like we'd be holding a special election for the senior class president and vice president soon." April spoke.
"It's good to have all of that behind us, guys." Henry spoke. "This calls for a celebration."
A short while later, the group of friends were at the Malt Shop hanging out.
"Do you guys have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Debbie asked as she sat in the same booth as Fred, Dee-Dee, and Shaggy and sipped on a can of cream soda.
"Well, Daphne and I are planning on going out together in the evening." Fred said. "She mentioned that there's a groovy restaurant that she wanted to try out, saying that she heard that they served good steak."
"Like, I hope that restaurant does serve cheeseburgers with chocolate sauce and maple syrup." Shaggy remarked.
"Yum, yum, yum!" Scooby said as popped by and licked his lips.
"Cheeseburgers with chocolate sauce and maple syrup?" Dee-Dee asked. "Any chance your stomach is made of scrap metal, Shaggy?"
"Can I help it if my favourite toy as a child was a garbage truck?" Shaggy asked.
"Well, don't worry Shag." Daphne stopped by their booth and placed her hand on Shaggy's shoulder as she said. "If Freddie and I can't finish, I may box up the leftovers for you and Scooby to finish."
"Sounds good to me, Daph." Shaggy smiled, prompting Daphne to smile back before she resumed walking and joined Brenda, Henry, and Augie at another booth.
"So, what do you guys got planned at the restaurant, Daphne?" Henry asked.
"They got some good music." Daphne replied. "Music that I hope we can dance with."
"Are you and Daphne planning on dancing at your dinner engagement, Fred?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah." Fred nodded. "It will be fun to dance with some rock or disco music, although some waltzes could bore things up."
"Oh, Fred." Debbie said. "Waltzes are fun to dance to."
"Yeah." Dee-Dee agreed. "It gives one the feeling of being in Vienna."
"I know that." Fred replied. "It's just that the slow rhythm sort of makes things boring, not wanting to spoil the fun."
"Oh, don't worry." Shaggy said. "There are still going to be some waltzes that are exciting to listen to, such as the Waltz from Aram Khachaturian's Masquerade Suite and the main theme of the 1951 French movie Sous le ciel de Paris, or in English, Under the sky of Paris."
"I'll keep that in mind, Shag." Fred nodded as he placed his hand on Shaggy's left shoulder.
At another booth, Velma was seated with Brenda, Shelly, and Taffy.
"Well, I guess that wraps up things about the missing money." Shelly spoke as she sipped on her orange juice.
"It does." Taffy nodded. "At least for now. We still don't know how the money ended up missing in the first place."
"As in there's something going on at the bank?" Brenda asked.
"It will seem that way, yes." Shelly nodded.
"And I got a feeling it may tie into my uncle's findings on his not being able to reproduce the financial returns based on the bank's investment portfolios." Velma said.
"One thing for sure is that we definitely don't want to do our banking with Crystal Pacific." Taffy said.
"Definitely not." Shelly agreed.
"Anyhow, besides this impromptu party, you girls got any other plans for Valentine's Day today?" Brenda asked.
"Nothing much, just the usual like any other day." Shelly shrugged. "You?"
"Same here, I suppose." Brenda replied.
"Times two." Taffy spoke.
"And times three." Velma rounded up. "Besides the fact that we're also halfway through the month."
"Oh yeah, that's something alright." Taffy nodded. "Another two weeks, then it's March, and then comes springtime."
Later, Shaggy and Maggie were walking Scooby in the park when they encountered Daphne.
"Ah, hey guys." The redhead smiled as the trio stopped to greet her.
"Like, hey Daph." Shaggy smiled back. "On your way to meet Fred?"
"Yeah." Daphne nodded. "Our first time hanging out together. Hope it goes well."
"Don't worry, Daph." Maggie said. "He's a good friend, so it should be alright. After all, things were magical when you were with Norville."
Daphne nodded before glancing at her wristwatch. "Well, I better be off now. See you guys around, eh?"
"Yeah." Shaggy smiled. "See you and have a happy Valentine's Day!"
Daphne smiled back, and it was at the tip of her tongue to add something, but the words didn't come out of her mouth.
She was still pondering whether she should tell the trio about what she was told the previous day. Likewise, Shaggy, Scooby, and Maggie were still pondering about whether they should tell the redhead about what they were told the previous day.
Despite the silence, the quartet stared at each other and the hints dropped by their body language and facial expressions eventually led to an understanding among each other.
Rather than bringing up the family secrets, Shaggy, Scooby, and Maggie waved their hands in goodbye with smiles on their faces as Daphne promptly waved back with a smile and took her leave.
Mid-April 1969
As the weeks went by, the group continued to meet and hang out together, often to discuss interesting topics and homework, as well as school and friends.
The topic of fun mystery stories, such as the exploits of Sherlock Holmes, were brought up, and it was the discussion of mysteries where their conversations become more animated.
Having had become quite popular at school following their uncovering of the revelations surrounding the Halloween costume contest vote, the group found themselves forming a mystery solving club, where students interested in mystery-solving gather and discuss a mystery story and try to figure out the culprit and motive based on evidence presented in the story.
As the weeks trickled by and into the middle of April, Shaggy turned 16 and obtained his learner's permit for driving. After that, he began doing driving lessons with his parents with Scooby and Maggie occasionally tagging along for the drive.
One such occasion saw her using up all the rear seat safety belts while her brother was driving, much to his chagrin.
And another such occasion saw Scooby tagging along and them parking at a park at night, leading Scooby to wonder into the nearby woods, only to make a stunning discovery, and...well, that's for another story.
As an announcement to my readers, effective in the new year, the fictional universe of my stories will undergo a renumbering of the dimensions. The dimensions are renumbered for better alignment of the settings and parallel timelines, as follows:
The new Dimension One is the current Dimension Five Timeline One.
Dimension Two remains unchanged and comprises of my planned Scooby-Doo: Poltergeist series, which will be a revision and expansion of the continuity established in The Mystery Begins and Curse of the Lake Monster.
Dimension Three is reverted to comprising solely the reboot of Mystery Incorporated as currently shown in Timeline One.
Dimension Four remains unchanged.
The new Dimension Five is the current Dimension Five Timeline Two with the alternate name of the Mook Dimension, on account of it being a revision and expansion of the Mook Animation-produced works from Zombie Island to Cyber Chase and will comprise of a complete reimagining of Get a Clue!
The new Dimension Six will be an expansion of post-2010 DTV films while not making it dark and gritty as I have currently established with Crystal Cove Chronicles.
The new dimension numbers in their 50s are the darker and grittier series set primarily beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, where Dimension 50 is the new home for City of Mysteries, currently in Dimension Seven.
The new dimension numbers in their 70s are the darker and grittier series set primarily beginning in the 2000s and 2010s, and comprises of the following dimensions:
Dimension 70 as the new home for PO Box 1969, currently in Dimension 10.
Dimension 71 as the new home for Paranormal Instincts, currently in Dimension Three Timeline Two.
Dimension 72 as the new home for Crystal Cove Chronicles, currently in Dimension Six.
Dimension 79 as the new home for Coolsville Central, currently in Dimension One.
The gang's adventures in Dimensions Four and Eight continues in D4-D8 The Ballad of Philately and a Missing Time Capsule.
Please read and review!