Unknown Earth
Twilight couldn't help but feel grateful for the warmth now that they were back on Vorton, the cold was really starting to get to her. She placed the cube of Energon to the side with the other Foundation Elements as the others landed from the Gateway behind them.
Sonic dusted his hands off to rid his gloves of the snow that had made itself comfortable on the white fabric. "Alright, that's two Foundation Elements down. Only one to go." He walked ahead of the group, wiping all of the excess snow off of him. "Ugh, this is why I hate the snowy Zones back home. It gets everywhere."
Mario hummed in agreement has he removed his cap and shook it, getting rid of the snow. "I agree, but you know what's worse?" He countered, placing his cap back on his head. "Sand."
Sonic groaned in agreement, "Ugh, I retract my previous statement. Sand is the absolute worst."
Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the pair as they bantered before noticing a certain robot descend from above. "Hi X-PO!" She greeted happily, waving her hoof in greeting.
X-PO waved his own little, tiny arm as well. "Hi Twilight!" He then noticed the giant cube off to the side, "Looks like you found the element. Huh. It's bigger than I thought it would be." He then shrugged, "Oh well. We only need one more to reconstruct the map to Foundation Prime. And the sooner we get it, the sooner we can get your friends back and stop Talos."
Tony approached the robot and asked, "What can you tell us about this next dimension?"
"Only that it's set in the nineteen sixties. So technology isn't very advanced there." X-PO revealed. Any info was good info after all. "Also try not to interact with the locals."
"Why?" Batman asked.
"Cause the supernatural in that world, or the superhuman in your guys' cases, is practically non-existent. Anything supernatural in that dimension can be explained with cheap parlor tricks and special effects. If the locals see you guys and can't explain it, it's gonna be a whole thing and I don't feel like dealing with that today."
After X-PO had finished his explanation, Sonic began listing off the key points with his fingers, "Okay so, find the Foundation Element, and don't be spotted by the locals." He listed off before giving the robot a thumbs up with his signature smirk. "Sounds easy enough! We got this."
"Alright! If that's everything, then let's get a move on!"
Earth 1969
The Mystery Machine bounced along the rocks on the hill leading up to the mansion, a swarm of bats flying through the air as they approached. Once it was set into park, the gang stepped out of the van and made their way up to the door.
This group was made up of five individuals, two of them female, and three of the male.
The leader wore a blue, collared shirt with a white jumper over the top of it. He also wore blue pants, had blonde hair, and wore an orange ascot around his neck.
The second was a scrawny looking fellow, he wore a green short sleeved shirt, baggy brown pants, had a scruffy beard on his chin and had brown hair.
The third was a brown dog with three black spots on his back, and wore a blue collar with the initials SD engraved into it.
The fourth member was a female brunette wearing an orange jumper with a red skirt, orange stockings, and a pair of glasses on her head.
The final member was a red headed female wearing a purple dress, had a green scarf on her neck, a lavender headband in her hair, wore lavender leggings with shoes to match.
Scooby Doo and Mystery Incorporated eagerly approached the door of the haunted mansion. Well, everyone besides Shaggy and Scooby, who were shaking like leaves due to the fear that they were feeling. That fear intensified when they both heard a swoosh in the air. Scooby yelped and jumped into Shaggy's arms as he scurried towards the door to meet with the others.
The mansion looked run down, with boarded up windows, wooden planks hanging off of the roof, multiple bats flying around the premises, and an overgrown garden slithering up the rusted gates.
The house rested on a cliff, nearby an abandoned fun-fair, and down the bottom of the hill in a secluded area was a portal, and from that portal out jumped Twilight Sparkle and the other Guardians of the Multiverse. Once the portal closed they took in their surroundings. Everything looked cell shaded, just like back in Springfield, except it looked a lot older and more toned down.
Sonic took a look around at his surroundings and smirked, "Wow, this place looks like something out of a ghost house." He commented before ducking down to avoid a bat swooping at his head. "Hey bats, can you tell your... bats to knock it off."
Batman suddenly shushed the hedgehog, annoying him greatly.
"Hey, don't shush me!"
"Be quiet!"
Twilight slowly approached her friend, who was leaning beside the cliff, appearing to be listening to something. "What's wrong?"
"My cowl is picking up voices atop this cliff," He explained while not looking down at Twilight. "We're not alone here."
"I'm picking up the same thing." Tony added, his helmet also picking up audio from up ahead.
"Well what are they saying?" Mario asked, approaching the Dark Knight, hoping for some clarity on the situation.
Batman turned and glared at the plumber, who wisely took a step back from the hero. Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the sight before promptly shutting up when the Bat Glare was set upon her.
Back up at the mansion, Fred addressed his friends with their current location. "Well, gang, this is my Uncle Arthur's house." He then noticed a dangling string and tugged on it, causing the doorbell to ring. It was so loud that even the Guardians below could hear it, emphasized by the fact that a swarm of bats flew away from the roof of the house.
"Arthur Jones, the famous explorer..." The one who expanded on Fred's declaration was Velma, the brains of the group. "Do you really believe he saw a Ghoul and a walking scarecrow?" She asked, wanting to be sure that the info they got was solid.
Fred shrugged, "He certainly thinks he has. He said they're after the Diamond Scarab he found in Egypt."
Batman frowned in thought, could this Diamond Scarab be the Foundation Element? He needed to listen more to be sure.
The leader in the ascot turned to Shaggy and Scooby and asked them, "Hey, guys? Can you check out the old fun-fair? That's one of the places the monsters have been seen."
Both Shaggy and Scooby paled at the request, the dog leaping into Shaggy's arms as he shook like a leaf, his teeth chattering in terror.
"Fun-fair?" Shaggy stuttered out.
"Ghost Train?" Scooby yelped.
Fred smirked knowingly at Velma and Daphne as he said in an enticing tone, "Say, guys, do you think that Fun-fair has a cotton candy machine?"
"Cotton candy?" Scooby peaked up at that before turning to Shaggy, "Let's go!"
Shaggy dropped Scooby to his feet before darting for the Mystery Machine. "Right behind you, o'l buddy, o'l pal!" They both laughed as they got into the van and drove back down the hill. Somehow they failed to notice the lavender unicorn, the man in a suit of armor, the short plumber, the azure anthropomorphic hedgehog, and the man dressed like a bat.
How oblivious can you be?
Batman shook his head and turned to the others, "The group up top mentioned an item called the Diamond Scarab." He folded his arms in thought, "That sounds like our Foundation Element, but we can't be sure."
"It's probably best to get up there and scope the place out." Tony suggested to the group, thinking it was the best idea at the moment.
"That's a great idea, Tony!" Twilight agreed before turning to Batman, "Okay, stealth is your forte. How do we go about doing this without being seen?"
Batman glanced up at the house above them, "They've probably already entered the house by now. We should go in after them and perform a thorough search of the mansion." He then leaned around the corner to ensure that the coast was clear, "If we don't find anything, then that fun fair is our best bet."
Twilight nodded and walked around the corner, "Then that's what we'll do! Come on!" She encouraged as she began trotting up the path towards the mansion., the group following close behind her.
Tony decided that it would probably be best if he didn't fly up to the house, as it would draw unwanted attention to them, which was the opposite of what they wanted. He looked around and saw lightning strike in the distance, "Why's there lightning? There's no rain, or even any signs of a storm. This feels over exaggerated."
"Reminds me of Boo's House." Mario commented as he traversed the foot path.
Iron Man turned to the plumber and tilted his head in question, "Boo's House?"
"A mansion haunted by ghosts." Mario replied casually, as if he was talking about the weather.
"Well I'm reminded of the time the Avengers and I took on Dracula in an abandoned mansion."
"You got vampires in your world?" Mario asked in surprise.
"I don't know why you're so surprised." Tony said truthfully. "I mean you deal with ghosts."
"Yeah but they're ghosts. Vampires are a whole different plate of mushrooms. Ugh..." Mario shivered at the thought of his neck being bitten by the Lord of Darkness. He shook his head and pressed onward with the others.
Meanwhile Twilight decided to slow her pace to walk alongside Sonic, who had been taking in the scenery with a confident smirk on his face. The hedgehog glanced at his unicorn friend and asked, "So, how're you holding up?"
"Okay, I guess." Twilight answered truthfully before hitting him with the same question. "What about you?"
Flashes of his vision played in his head for a moment before he shook his head and replied, "Eh, I'll manage." A concerned look appeared on his face, "Y'know if you ever need to talk, I'm here for ya, Twilight."
She smiled appreciatively at that, "Thank you, Sonic. I want you to know that I'm here for you too."
The two smiled at one another before continuing up the hill. They all eventually wound up at the front of the house, staring at the run down infrastructure curiously as pieces of the roof fell to the ground.
"Well! This place looks..." He struggled to come up with the right word to describe the mansion, "...Inviting?"
"More like creepy." Mario commented.
Sonic shrugged, "I was gonna say cliché."
"Eerie comes to mind." Twilight put in her own two bits.
Batman began approaching the door, "Whatever it is, it doesn't matter." He walked up the wooden stairs, each step creaking when pressure was applied. "We need to get inside and get that scarab." He then went to open the door, only to find that it wouldn't budge.
Twilight saw this and said, "Weird. That group of people didn't seem to have any problems getting inside."
"This is taking too long." Batman growled before kicking the doors open, walking inside with his cape draped over his form.
The other Guardians looked at one another before shrugging. That was one way of getting inside. They all walked into the mansion and began their search for the Diamond Scarab. But not to their knowledge, they were being watched by two individuals, who had been hiding in the shadows near an overgrown green house on the front lawn.
One figure was concealed in a black cloak, a scythe in his hand and a hood draped over his head to hide his identity.
The other was a man who appeared to have a disfigured face, a tattered mask stapled to his face to conceal his disfigured visage. He wore a brown, tattered trench coat with a hood over his head, which had gas mask like tubes on both sides of his lower jaw. He also had a leg brace on his left leg, having been broken by Batman at one point. On his chest were tubes of Fear Toxin, which connected to the gauntlet of syringes on his right hand.
The Scarecrow turned to his companion and asked, "Are you ready?" His voice raspy and gravely. The Ghoul nodded before Scarecrow continued, "Begin a search of the fun-fair for the Diamond Scarab. The Dark Knight and his new allies shall be dealt with in due time. As for those meddling children, I will ensure that they too will not stand in our way. After all, nobody can fight fear. Especially fear himself."
The Ghoul nodded before taking off into the air, making his way to the fun-fair to begin his search. Meanwhile Scarecrow began slowly making his way into the house with a malicious glint in his eyes.
Once the Guardians entered the house they heard the sounds of footsteps from above them. Veering on the side of caution Batman activated his Detective Vision and looked up to see Fred, Daphne, and Velma investigating the floor above them, each of them had flashlights in their hands.
As Fred and Velma made their way into the next room, they failed to notice the wall beside Daphne rotate. It was a trap. She was knocked into a secret room by the wall, both Fred and Velma none the wiser.
Batman looked confused, "Did... She just get caught behind a rotating wall?"
"What?" Tony asked, not understanding why Batman had just said that.
The Dark Knight shook his head, "Doesn't matter. Let's just get searching." With that they all dispersed into separate directions of the main lobby and began investigating. As he walked past a set of paintings, Batman took note of how the eyes followed him as he moved. "Strange." He commented before opening a few drawers to see if there were any clues hidden about. He turned on his Detective Vision again to scan for any finger prints on the table, the walls, even the paintings. But he found nothing.
Twilight began ascending the stairs, wanting to see if there were any clues that could help them up above. But that idea was shut down when the stairs suddenly turned into a slip n slide, sending the unicorn sliding down the stairs and crashing into a wooden table. She saw stars above her head while a flower pot tilted left and right from the impact until it fell and shattered on Twilight's head. She grumbled under her breath as she rubbed her head.
Daphne looked around in the darkness, this wasn't her first time being caught in a dark room by a rotating wall after all. She turned on her flashlight and looked around for a secret passage of some sort, hoping to escape. "Jeepers." She muttered to herself as she walked around the dark room. Daphne walked to the wall and placed her hands onto it, looking for a lever or a hidden panel to either open the wall or a secret door.
She let out a surprised yelp when the lights suddenly came on, and felt tense when she felt someone breathe on her neck.
She wasn't alone.
Daphne turned around and was introduced to a healthy dose of Fear Toxin. The gaseous formula entered all of her facial orifices, causing her to cough and wave her hand in front of her face to try and get rid of the gas. But when she opened her eyes, she was suddenly surrounded by a swarm of spiders, causing her to scream as they made their way closer to her.
She backed up against the wall in fear, when in actuality, there was nothing there.
Only her and the Scarecrow.
"What do you see, Ms. Blake?" Crane asked as he walked toward her trembling form. "Your schoolfriends betraying you? A swarm of insects perhaps? A mystery you cannot solve? Perhaps that blonde friend of yours rejecting you?" Scarecrow listed off before chuckling. "The possibilities of my Fear Toxin are endless." He crouched down in front of her and shook his head, clicking his tongue as he did so. "The mind of one so young, such as yourself, the fear of the dark, the fear of not being popular. It pales in comparison to what I would do to you and your friends if I had the time."
He stood up and shook his head.
"A shame. Experimentation on you could've proved fruitful." Scarecrow commented before delivering a swift kick to the side of her head, knocking her unconscious.
Meanwhile at the fun-fair
"Like zoinks, Scoob!" Shaggy cried out as they walked through the old fun-fair, shivering and chattering their teeth in fear. "This place gives me the creeps!"
"You rhed it, Raggy." Scooby agreed, yelping as a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, causing him to jump into Shaggy's arms.
The two had made their way to the cotton candy machine, only to find that it was broken. What a bummer. Anyways the two then decided to at least explore the place, even though they would rather be doing, like, anything else. Like eating inhuman amounts of food.
As they were walking, a shadow flew over their heads, causing them to stop dead in their tracks and look up. There, standing atop one of the carnival game stands, was the Ghoul with his scythe in hand.
The two best friends cried out in terror before running on the spot for a few seconds, trying to gain traction to run, before zooming off to get away from the Ghoul.
The Ghoul hadn't found anything in the fun-fair. Now it was time to return to the mansion and claim that Diamond Scarab. And hopefully destroy a certain hedgehog along the way. With that thought in mind, the Ghoul took off into the air and made his way back to the mansion.
Back with the Guardians
"Ya wanna know what I've found?" Tony asked as Sonic walked over to him, not having found anything in his area. "Squat! I've found squat!"
"Ditto." Sonic said, currently in the same boat as Iron Man. A sudden shout caught their attention, as when they turned around they saw Mario fall through a trap door from up above, landing back in the main lobby of the manor. "I'm guessing you had no luck either?"
Mario rubbed his behind as he stood up on his feet, "What do you think?"
"Why do I feel like this whole mansion is one giant deathtrap?" Iron Man asked as he spun around, looking at the lobby of the mansion in suspicion.
"Because it probably is." The voice of Batman answered as both he and Twilight Sparkle walked over to the others.
Twilight sighed dejectedly, "We haven't had any sort of luck in finding that scarab." She turned her head and glanced up the stairs, "We should probably search the next room. We're not going to find anything in here."
"I agree." Batman concurred as he began making his way up the stairs, before stopping when he remembered Twilight tried earlier and ended up sliding back down. He turned on his Detective Vision and saw a series of cables underneath the stairs that led to a junction box hanging on a nearby wall. Batman took out a Batarang and threw it at the box, causing it to short circuit, making it safe to walk up the stairs. "Come on. Let's see what's in the next room."
In the next room
Fred and Velma were currently searching this room diligently, they were mystery solvers, it was kind of in their job description. This room had a weird vibe to it, to say the least, there were two knight armors guarding the door, several bookcases, and even more less than appealing paintings on the wall.
As Velma made her way into the next room, Fred, who was looking for any clues on the bookcase, pulled a red book and fell into a trap door. Turns out the book was a secret lever and the ascot wearing man fell right into a trap. And once Velma entered the next room the door slammed shut and metal spikes covered the door, making it impossible for her to escape.
It was then that the Guardians entered the room.
Sonic looked confused at the sight of the room, "Seriously, what is with this place?" He walked forward and spread out his arms, "Like who designed this place? Were they going for the creepy vibe or what?"
"Just shut up and look around for any clues." Batman sighed as he rolled his eyes, moving further into the room as the others began to look around.
"This place seems like something out of a Daring Do book," Twilight quipped as she lifted a stone statue with her magic. "What with all the traps and whatnot." She placed the statue back down and moved on and passed the two sets of armor, not noticing that their heads turned and followed her as she walked past them.
Batman walked up to the door currently sealed off by metal spikes and once again activated his Detective Mode, trying to look for any clues that may be of help. He frowned when he noticed a particular residue on the spikes and the door knob. It appeared to be and orange color and held traces of chemicals that made up a concoction that Batman was very familiar with.
"Tony," He said, turning to face the billionaire and waving him over. "Could you melt these bars with your Repulsor Rays?"
Iron Man walked over and smirked under his helmet, "I can do you one better." He raised his arms and fired a tiny red laser from his gauntlet, breaking the bars as he moved his arm along, making the door accessible. "Ta-da!"
"Nice work." Batman commended before opening the door, "Come on, I think we might be on the right path."
In the next room
Velma couldn't help it as a sense of dread creeped up her spine, although she did maintain her composure as she looked around the room. This room was themed after the ancient pyramids in Egypt. There were two sphinx's on both sides of the room, multiple tombs in each corner of the room, and multiple ancient artefacts in glass tables in the center of the room.
The nerdy girl suddenly stumbled on the leg of a table and fell to the ground, her glasses falling from her face, leaving her pretty much blind.
"My glasses! I can't see anything without my glasses!" She exclaimed as she got back to her feet, trying to find her glasses, unknowingly kicking them forward as she walked. She moved to one of the tombs in the room, not seeing that it was now suddenly open. She and her glasses fell into the tomb before it closed and lowered her into the floor.
Batman walked into the room with the Guardians following right behind him, with Twilight standing right by his side.
"How many themes are in this house?" Mario asked as the door closed behind him.
Twilight walked over to one of the sphinx's and eyed it curiously while Sonic observed the artefacts in the glass tables. "Wow, a lot of stuff must've been uncovered. It's amazing to think of what we haven't even discovered yet."
"I know!" Twilight agreed happily, turning to the smiling hedgehog. "If we had more time I would love to study each of these artefacts and compare them to the ones back home." She couldn't help but think of the books! The knowledge! The hours of studying! The books!
As those two talked Batman made his way to the far wall, squinting his eyes. Something wasn't right here. The coloring of the wall didn't match the rest of the room, it was different, nobody would be able to tell the difference from a distance. But he could, this wall was made of a different material than the rest of the house. Turning on Detective Mode, Batman saw why that was the case.
This wall was a fake!
He reached into his belt and pulled out his Explosive Gel and applied it to the wall in the shape of a bat symbol. Everyone turned and wondered what he was doing before he backed away from the wall. He then pressed the trigger on the gel gun and the wall exploded, causing everyone to shield their eyes.
Once the dust cleared everyone saw that there was indeed a secret room behind the destroyed wall. And sitting on display in that secret room was the Diamond Scarab.
"Bingo." Batman said with a smirk as the others approached from behind.
"Nice work!" Mario congratulated.
But the moment was ruined at the sound of a gravely voice, one very familiar to Batman. "I must congratulate you, Batman." They all turned around as the voice echoed throughout the room. "Without you I wouldn't have been able to locate the Foundation Element I required. Well done."
"Scarecrow."
Suddenly a secret door opened to the left in the secret room, and there stood Jonathan Crane with, despite his appearance, a smile on his mauled face.
Sonic and the others shivered at the sight, "Ugh, creepy mask."
"That's not a mask."
Everyone paled at that.
"W-What?" Twilight stuttered out, her voice shaking.
"That's his face."
Scarecrow tilted his head at the group, "Does my visage strike fear into your hearts." He chuckled raspingly. "Good, without fear life is meaningless." He stepped out of the darkness and continued, "Tell me, what is it that you fear? Failure? Being unable to save those you cherish? Perhaps it is something more? Do not worry, we shall explore this further, as will those meddling kids who roam this place."
"What have you done?" Batman growled, inwardly worried for those kids' safety.
Scarecrow shook his head, "They are alive, do not fret, I do not have the time to properly experiment on them." He looked to the scarab and said, "Now that I have what I seek, I believe it is time to depart."
"This isn't going to end how you think, Crane."
"Enough bravado. It's too late for that." Scarecrow whispered. "You see yourself as a savior. A guardian in the night. How can the world know fear – true dread – when there is you? A stalwart knight, ever ready to slay monsters. Fear isn’t true biology, Batman. It’s more than instinct. True fear is the absence of hope. And hope is the spread wings of a bat, shining in the clouds." He raised his head so that the Guardians could get a good look at his face. "How many more bones would you crush? How many lives will you destroy in pursuit of what you call justice? You are the product of everything you fear. Violence... Darkness... Helplessness... All that remains is for you to watch as I drag your beloved Multiverse into oblivion."
As Batman moved closer, he noticed the floor suddenly creak. He stopped and looked down, noticing that there was a slight outline around where they were standing. His eyes widened, it was another trap!
"Move!" He tried to shout but it was too late as the floor moved from right under them, causing them all to fall into the darkness below.
With the Guardians indisposed, Scarecrow simply walked up to the Diamond Scarab and took it in his hands, glancing down at the trap door the heroes just fell into.
"You will bring death to all who follow you."