//------------------------------// // Welcome to the Hall of Justice // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and Krypto Too // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Once they left The Daily Planet, after promising Jimmy, Lois and Stormquill that they would be careful, Mystery Incorporated and their pony pals set off for the Hall of Justice. Along the route, Zipp had an idea of what they could do to help Metropolis and potentially solve the mystery faster, and took out their manesquerade ball masks and handed them out. “Zipp, I loved our outfits from the ball,” said Pipp, clearly confused, “but is this really the right time?” “You're forgetting something, sis. These aren’t JUST our manesquerade masks,” Zipp reminded. “They also hid our identities when we were the Unity Squad!” “Oh, right! And after Ivory Justice enchanted them with her magic, they gave us our superpowers!” Sunny recalled. “Great idea to have them on hoof, Zipp!” “I just hope you guys won’t have to use them all that much,” Daphne frowned. “Last time we faced supervillains, a portal nearly destroyed half of Gotham!” “Don’t worry… we’ve learned since then,” Zipp winked. “I’m sure whatever we face, we can handle it together.” XXXXXXXX After a few more minutes of driving, the Mystery Machine pulled up beside the Hall of Justice, but what they were expecting and what they saw were two totally different things. The whole building looked abandoned, with police tape swaying in the wind, graffiti was all over the walls and some of the windows were cracked. “Yeesh…” Sunny muttered. “You think you would show the heroes of Metropolis a little more respect.” “And in our line of work… it’s definitely haunted!” Scooby yelped, scrambling to the back seat and hugging Shaggy, both not wanting to go inside. Daphne sighed from the front seat. “I know. There's no way you two are stepping out of the van for less than five Scooby Snacks,” she told the boys. “But I told you, we're all out of--” But when she and the pups turned toward the back seat, Shaggy and Scooby were gone. “Guys?” Misty called before Velma pointed ahead. And when the gang looked in that direction, they saw their friends in front of a food truck that read ‘Challenge of the Super Fries’, panting excitedly. “Wow, heh…” Daphne chuckled, getting out another Scooby Snacks box from out of nowhere. “And I was bluffing.” “But, at least they got out for something,” Zipp shrugged. “Hitch, Sparky and I are gonna go help Daphne and Fred find a place to park, and we'll meet up with you later.” “See ya!” Izzy said as the others got out of the Mystery Machine before it drove off, just as the food truck lady spoke to Shaggy and Scooby, gesturing to a stack of tickets on the table next to them. “Mark what you want on the tickets.” “Excuse us, ma’am. We’re investigating the disappearance of the Justice League,” Sunny told her politely. “Those no-good do-gooders?” the food truck lady scoffed. “They could stay disappeared, as far as I'm concerned.” “What's wrong with them?” Velma pondered as she came to Sunny's right side. “What? Never heard a bad word spoke about them heroes?” Helen grouched. “For years I wanted their permission to park my truck here outside their HQ.” Izzy, Scooby and Shaggy giggled to themselves excitedly while Misty and Pipp watched them write a whole bunch of orders on a whole bunch of order tickets... too many tickets for one person. “I hope you got more of these,” Shaggy grinned. “Oh yeah,” said Izzy. “Cause I think we're gonna be chowing down for a while!” “Lots of hungry tourists traipse past here everyday. But the league said it 'weren't safe'. They said we was trying to keep the sightseers away,” Helen continued with a scoff. “Imagine how they'd feel about the mayor's fancy new tour groups.” “Tour groups?” Velma asked, and the woman pointed behind them to see a group of people wandering toward the Hall of Justice. “They’re probably the ones that phantom's been scaring off,” Misty supposed. “I should thank him, though,” the woman went on. “They run right past my truck, and, boy, does all that screaming work up an appetite!” “So your business is thriving since the League vanished?” Velma asked suspiciously. “You got no idea. Best thing that ever could have happened,” the woman said before turning toward Shaggy and Scooby. “Now, you boys finished writing up that order?” “Heh… not even close!” Pipp responded, looking at the high stack of tickets with a smile. “This is a #FoodFrenzy if I ever saw one!” “They’ll have one order of super-fries, please,” Velma said sternly, causing the boys to groan. But that one groan sent the pile of tickets right onto Shaggy and Scooby, causing Velma, Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and Misty to smile at the food truck lady sheepishly. One thing was for sure… they definitely had their first suspect on the list. XXXXXXXX In the garage, Daphne and Fred drove the Mystery Machine to the garage with Zipp and Hitch with them. Once they had gotten out of the van, the found a valet named J.B, and Fred handed him the keys. “There you go. Take good care of her.” “Her… you gotta be kidding me,” the valet scoffed. “Excuse me?” Zipp asked with a raised eyebrow, shocked by the behavior. “Of course it’s a her!” the valet said. “I bet she has a name too.” “Uh-huh... but, I don’t really see how that’s a--” Daphne began to say before she was interrupted by the valet inspecting the van more closely. “Fancy paint, decals galore… what are these flowers? Some kind of secret experimental camouflage?” “What? No, it’s just a regular van,” Fred explained. “Really? Oh, baby!” J.B exclaimed before he got to hugging and kissing the Mystery Machine, only for Hitch to pull him away. “Hey, dude! I get you like how the Mystery Machine is... normal... whatever that means,” Hitch said with a slight grimace, “but lay off the hugs and kisses, all right?” “Sorry, sorry. You don't know how hard it's been parking Batmobiles and Arrow-cars and Green Lantern energy bubbles,” J.B told the group. “I mean, what's wrong with normal vehicles?” “Well, I kind of have a flying RV,” Zipp said with a scratch to the back of her head, “but... I guess nothing...?” “Nothing!” the valet repeated, clutching her shoulders before Zipp brushed him off, a little creeped out. “Hey, if you need atomic batteries to catch up to a villain, maybe you're not cut out for the hero biz. You got me? You know, all I hear is how sad people are that the League's gone, but between us, I couldn't have planned it better.” “Planned it?” Daphne questioned with her arms crossed. “Yeah, if I had,” J.B suddenly said, realizing what he had said. “Which I didn't. But maybe did I? I don't know what I did. What am I doing right now? Did I plan it? I didn't. Maybe I did. Ha ha ha… what a great day! Can I park it now?” “Uh, would you mind parking her in that big, empty space up front?” Fred pointed toward a particular empty spot. “You mean, Wonder Woman’s space?” J.B asked. “It's not empty, but… a regular van owner like you, sure. You know, I can move some stuff around.” Daphne and Fred shrugged at each other as they led Zipp and Hitch into the nearby elevator to meet the others. “Hey, guys? What do you think he meant by ‘not empty’?” Hitch wondered. “I don’t know. Strange guy,” Fred spoke, pressing a button as the elevator began to rise to a different level. That’s when he finally decided to ask Daphne about this Jimmy situation. “So, uh…” “He was mistaken!” Daphne said. “It was camp, we were just friends-- let it go.” Zipp and Hitch didn’t like to see any of their friends fighting, but… they weren’t sure what they could possibly say to make the situation less… on edge. Finally, they arrived at the main level of the Hall of Justice, and it was just as magnificent as they thought it to be-- there was even a fountain right smack-dab in the middle of the room. That’s when they saw their friends waiting for them…. although Shaggy and Scooby were stuffed beyond compare. “Hey, what happened to you two?” Hitch asked in alarm. “Ugh…” Scooby groaned. “We took the challenge.” “Yeah. Like, eat ten orders of Super Fries, get 15 more,” Shaggy added. “All of them for free.” “Oh, that sounds like a really good deal,” Fred smiled. “Except,” said Sunny with a concerned frown, “you have to eat them ALL in one sitting.” At that remark, Scooby burped, which caused a fry to pop up through his mouth, and then Scooby ate that fry, causing many to groan in disgust. That’s when an African American woman came closer to the gang, with a yellow unicorn who had a cream mane and tail, purple eyes, darker yellow hooves and a cutie mark of a feather. “Excuse me. Are you here for the next tour?” asked the woman. “I guess we are,” Misty answered as she shrugged. “Wonderful-- I’m Mayor Fleming, and this is my loyal assistant, Ophelia,” the woman introduced. “It's so nice to meet you all,” Ophelia smiled. “I guess you probably recognize the mayor from all the campaign billboards.” “Actually, all the billboards we've seen here have been painted over with bright pink polka dots,” Hitch explained. “An obvious example of damage to public property.” “Of course… Mad Mod,” the mayor grumbled. “Mad Mod…?” Izzy and Scooby whimpered. “An art school dropout with a flair for pastels… and villainy,” Ophelia said with a slight growl. “Just one of the many super criminals,” said the mayor, “running amok in my city ever since the Justice League disappeared.” “Well, Mayor Fleming,” said Zipp with a smile. “That’s why we're all here.” “You're the mystery solvers that Lois Lane told us about! The mayor and I are so glad you've agreed to help us,” Ophelia smiled, just before the mayor started to explain. “We started offering tours of the Hall of Justice not long after the League vanished. Has it paid the rent? Sure… but it's so much more than that. Being in these hallowed halls gives people the hope that one day, our heroes may return.” “But ever since this phantom showed up,” Ophelia said, “fewer and fewer people want to visit this place, and soon, it'll get to a point where there are no visitors at all.” “Not that it was much of an attraction to begin with,” said a voice, and the group gasped in surprise at seeing a bald man in a fancy business suit approach them. With him was a grown doberman with a purple collar and a gray earth pony filly with soft magenta eyes, a blue and green mane and tail and no cutie mark... ...probably around the Pippsqueaks' age. Scooby tilted his head at the doberman, but he growled intimidatingly at the Great Dane, wanting nothing to do with him while the earth pony had her head held low... as if she was scared or ashamed by something. “MERCY!!” the man called, and a younger woman made her way forward. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I was--” “Just do it,” the man interrupted spitefully, and the woman sighed and cleared her throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, Lex Luthor, the President of the United States!” she announced to the group, making Ophelia scoff under her breath. “Former president…” “Yes, well… current billionaire genius CEO of military contractor and online dating portal LexCorp,” Lex interrupted before lovingly turning to the doberman next to him. “And this is Rex.” “Rex Ruthor?” Scooby questioned. “Rhat’s right,” Lex smirked as Rex growled at Scooby again. “And… what about you?” Sunny asked the filly with a smile. “What’s your name?” “T-T-Tempest... ma'am,” the filly stammered, holding her head up and standing as tall as she could. “T-Tempest N-Nova.” “She’s the newest… trainee at LexCorp, hoping to one day follow in Rex’s pawprints,” Lex explained, making Tempest a bit more uncomfortable than she already was. “Anywho, the Hall of Justice. Pretty lame destination, yes? So many times I told Superman to put in a roller coaster, animatronics, anything.” “Uh… excuse me, sir, but… but why don't I remember your presidency?” Fred asked curiously. “It was short, thank goodness,” Ophelia rolled her eyes, but that didn’t stop Lex from ignoring the yellow unicorn and going over to her employer/dear friend. “Oh, Flemmy,” he said in a sickening sweet tone of voice. “When are you and I going to stop all this political bickering and do something good for the city?” “Luthor,” Mayor Fleming sighed, “the best thing you can do for Metropolis is leave.”  “...charming…” Lex muttered. “Now, have you given my final offer further consideration?” “Offer?” Zipp spoke. “What’s he talking about, mayor?” The mayor sighed heavily before deciding to explain. “He's been pressuring my office to seize the Hall of Justice as abandoned property, and put it up for auction where he can get it at--”  “A steal,” Lex finished wickedly. “Flem, listen. A fleet of LexCorp bulldozers are rolling up as we speak. All you need to do is say the word and I'll mow down this miserable mausoleum of moral mediocrity in minutes.” “...whoa,” Scooby blinked. “Were you trying for that villainous alliteration,” Sunny asked out of curiosity, “or did that just happen on its own?” Lex sneered at the earth pony mare, but before anything else could be said, Tempest tapped Shaggy on the leg. “Um… excuse me. Your dog is really cute… is it okay if I pet him?” “Oh, like, sure,” Shaggy responded. “Scoob’s one of the friendliest dogs around-- he likes just about everybody.” This was shown to be true, for as soon as Tempest started rubbing Scooby on top of the head, the Great Dane began to lick her face, causing her to laugh. “Hey, that tickles!” “Come on, guys,” Ophelia smiled. “The tour is just about to start.” “Are you gonna come too, Tempest?” Daphne asked. Tempest looked like she wanted to say yes, but one look at Lex caused her to look at her hooves. “I-I have to stay here. But… you guys have fun, though.” The Mane 6 glanced at each other in concern before following the mayor, Velma, Fred and Daphne away. “Be careful,” Lex called to Shaggy and Scooby before they left. “There's more to fear within these walls than phantoms, ghosts and super ghouls.” “S-Super ghouls?!” Scooby leapt into Shaggy's arms. “Zoinks!!” Shaggy cried before the two rushed after their friends, and Lex displayed a wicked sneer that made Tempest really uncomfortable… at least until Mercy spoke. “Did you want me to pull the car up--” “Not now, Mercy! I'm sneering!” Lex snapped, and that caused Mercy to sneak away as Lex resumed his sneers. But while her... employer was sneering, Tempest reached into her mane and pulled out a sparkly key, sighing as she looked at it. “The lock has to be here…” she muttered as she put it away. “I know it. But where it is… well, that’s a whole different story.” “TEMPEST!!!” “C-Coming, sir!” Tempest said before galloping after him as they walked down another hallway. “Tempest… you do realize,” said Mr. Luthor as they walked down the hall, “that I took you in so you could gain experience as an assistant, and not to be frivolous, don’t you?” “Y-Yes, sir.” “And, you’re supposed to be fearsome, correct? Isn’t that what your ancestor was?” “...yes,” Tempest said softly. “My mom used to tell me that Tempest Shadow was the most feared unicorn warrior in all of Equestria. But… that’s the thing, I don’t want to be--”  “Feared?” Lex sneered. “Which do you like least… the fear of being feared or the fear of being fired and out on the street?” Tempest’s breathing hitched at this. “F-Fired…?” “That’s what I thought your answer would be. Now, come along. We have some calls to make.” Tempest sighed sadly before she hung her head low and followed her employer away, wishing with all the strength she had that she could find a way out of this life… …and into a life her mother wanted her to have before she passed.