G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold

by ponydog127

Stories Come into Light

The gang swiftly retreated to the malt shop Batman told them to go to, and once Sunny and her friends got changed out of their superhero costumes (Ivory could always put them on later), they sat down at a large table and a waitress came over to them. “So, what are you kids having?”

“Like, 5 chocolate shakes, my good woman. What are the rest of you guys having?” Shaggy laughed in amusement. “Oy… four more, please,” Velma ordered, and the woman nodded before heading to the back to make the order. “What’s the matter, guys?” Fred asked the ponies, who didn’t look too happy. “I thought you guys would be more enthusiastic than this. You saved us.”

“The Crimson Cloak almost got Shaggy and Scooby, and we couldn’t do anything to stop him,” Misty sighed. “He’s really powerful! Almost as powerful as… she was.”

Scooby could sense that Misty was still shaken about Opaline, and tried to comfort her. “She’s gone now, Misty... you don't have to worry anymore.”

“But… Fred has a point,” Sunny shrugged. “We should be gathering information, not sulking about what we could have done differently.”

“I guess...” Misty sighed. “Let’s just wait for Batman and Ivory to get here and then we can figure this whole mess out.”

Just then, the door opened, and a man followed by several police officers headed to their booth. “I've been looking for you hippie mystery solvers,” he said, pulling out a badge. “Detective Harvey Bullock, Gotham PD.”

“What's going on, detective?” Fred asked. “Fred Jones, I'm investigating a robbery at Gotham Chemical Storage. Wouldn't know anything about that, would ya?” Detective Bullock asked, narrowing his eyes at Fred. “Have you tried splitting up and looking for clues?” Fred asked. “It always works for us.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it does, cupcake. Here's a clue for you,” Detective Bullock whipped out a photo of the Mystery Machine driving away from the explosion site and put it in Fred’s face. “This was taken at the scene of a break-in. Whole building destroyed.”

Misty squeaked at the sight of the photo, wondering who could have taken such an alarming piece of evidence. “Wait, who took that photo?” Velma asked, studying the photo a little closer. “Anonymous tipper,” the detective responded coldly, taking the photo away from her. “That's your gang's little flower power van, ain't it?”

“We’re not a gang!” Daphne objected. “Like, sure, collectively we often refer to ourselves as ‘the gang’,” Shaggy spoke, using quotation marks for the last two words. “But we're not a real gang. I mean, we're a gang, but not technically a ‘gang’ gang,” Fred added, and Velma nodded at this. “And we weren’t involved with that theft!”

“Yeah?” Detective Bullock tucked the photo away. “Where you been the last couple hours?”

“...ruh-roh,” Scooby gulped. “Uh… I’m afraid we can’t tell you that,” Sunny spoke, and Misty quickly shook her head in agreement, causing the detective to smirk. “Well, ain’t that convenient.”

“Hang on one second. They’re mystery solvers. How can you suspect them of a crime with just one little photograph?” Zipp asked with a cold tone. “Seen it before,” the detective responded, crossing his arms. “Cop spends so much time thinking like a criminal, he starts acting like one.”

“Actually, that’s a well-documented… a-and clearly unsound phenomenon,” Velma changed her wording after receiving a glare from Shaggy and Scooby with a nervous giggle. “All right,” Detective Bullock pulled out some handcuffs. “You kids are comin’ with me, after I search your van.”

“You can’t do that!” Daphne argued. “And we're not going to let you!” Hitch agreed. “We promise you that!”

And so, the Mane 6 stood ready to fight for their friends' safety... just before Batman and Ivory arrived. “That’ll do, Detective Bullock,” Batman said sternly. “I'm sure Commissioner Gordon would be interested to hear you're arresting citizens without a warrant.”

“Gee, I can't seem to find it. Must've left it at the precinct,” Detective Bullock said as he felt his jacket. “Come back when the donuts are fresh, Bullock,” Ivory sneered. “You know what my Cosmic Crystal Blast can do to someone when they’re not expecting it.”

“This ain’t over, Bats. I’ll be keeping an eye on you and your little horsey friend… bet on it,” Detective Bullock warned Batman before he and his men left, shoving Ivory a bit before they walked out the door. “What can I get you, Batman?” the waitress from before asked. “Buttermilk-- over ice, please.”

“Phew… that was close,” Misty sighed in relief. “We got here as soon as we could,” Batman told the group as he and Ivory sat down. “The others are out working the case, but Bullock complicates things.”

“Batman, what happened earlier?” Velma asked. “And who is that Crimson Cloak? An old villain?” Fred questioned. “A new one-- we’ve never seen him before,” Ivory shook her head... just before she seemed to realize something. “Unless…”

“What does that mean? Is he wearing a disguise or some sort of illusion?” Daphne asked, confusion spread across her face. “It doesn’t seem possible,” Batman said, bringing out a small device. “I've checked and cross-checked the entire criminal database in the Batcave computer.”

“Batcave? As in the actual Batcave?” Velma found herself growing excited. “Jinkies! When do we get to see that?”

“You don’t,” Batman told them, making Velma frown before going through several villains on the device. “Gentleman Ghost, Clayface, Joker-- anyone who could do this is either in Arkham Asylum or Blackgate Penitentiary.”

“Batman, you have to tell us what happened,” Daphne urged. “We’re all part of the Mystery Analysts-- we help each other solve cases,” Fred agreed. “Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “It’s what we Scooby-Doo.”

“Ooh, that’s good,” Izzy told the Great Dane. “You should trademark that.”

Ivory looked up at Batman and nodded slowly… they were right. If they wanted to help, they needed to know the truth.

Begrudgingly, Batman took out the case file he had taken away earlier. “Your unsolved case!” Pipp gasped with wide eyes. “No one outside yourselves has seen the contents of this file,” Batman explained, opening the file. “It was during my first year as a crime-fighter, a few weeks after I found Ivory as a young filly.”

Everyone sat intently as Batman continued the story, not noticing the sad gaze Ivory was giving off. “I'd intercepted a report of criminal activity at a secret lab. That malevolent mastermind Professor Milo had been conducting a teleportation experiment that had gone horribly awry. I’d easily subdued Professor Milo,” Batman went on, “but his two henchmen, Doctors Leo Scarlett and Wade Magny weren’t so lucky.”

“What happened?” Hitch asked as he and Zipp took notes. “The hold of the portal was so strong, it began to suck them inside, causing Batman to go and try and pull them from it’s hold,” Ivory explained quietly, causing the ponies to quietly gasp. “Leaving Ivory someplace safe, I finally pulled them free… or so I thought,” Batman continued, sounding sort of… remorseful. “I’d saved Dr. Magny… but Leo Scarlett…”

This caused the gang and all the ponies to be brought into stunned silence, not sure what to say… if they should say anything at all. Misty seemed to be taking it the hardest, and wiped her eyes of silent tears. “It was my fault,” Batman spoke. “He was the only life I ever lost.”

“Wow… so that’s your unsolved case,” Fred spoke up. “Even though I originally never took part in the mission, sometimes we can… hear a voice in our dreams,” Ivory spoke uneasily, ears folding back. “But I never thought it was real. Now, to see what he’s become…”

“How could he be back?” Daphne wondered. “Because it’s a real ghost!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Yeah, a ghost,” Scooby nodded, and this caused Fred to turn to Batman reassuringly. “Don't worry, Batman,” he spoke for the group. “Mystery Incorporated and the Unity Squad are going to help you solve this case.”

“Wherever it leads,” Daphne agreed with a nod. “Like, where’s Professor Milo? He’s the most likely suspect,” Shaggy pointed out. “He met his fate in a rodent-related incident a few years ago,” Ivory spoke, leading to looks from the gang. “Don’t ask.”

“Did Leo have any family?” Velma asked. “Only Leo’s father, Sam Scarlett,” Batman pulled out a photo from a newspaper article. “A world-class scientist in his own right. After the accident, he swore revenge. But he was a broken man.”

But then, as she looked at the newspaper article and thought about the story that was just told, Daphne came up with something. “Velma, give me your notebook.”

Velma obliged and Daphne took out a pencil to begin writing. “You said the other henchman's name was Dr. Wade Magny? But look what happens when you rearrange the letters.”

“Edward Nygma!” Fred spoke, and Batman studied the name for a moment in surprise. “How could I have missed that?” he wondered before Ivory realized with a smile. “Word scrambles.”

“You know it,” Daphne smirked. “Amazing! Like, who’s Edward Nygma?” Shaggy asked. “I don’t know,” Scooby shrugged, but unfortunately… Batman knew exactly who this guy was. “The man who would become the most twistedly clever criminal I've ever faced-- the Riddler.”

“The Riddler?!” the gang cried out. “All this time… I never realized he was involved with Professor Milo,” Batman spoke. “We have to question him. Do you know where he is?” Velma asked, causing Batman to nod. “I do, but you need to stay behind.”

“Are you kidding? We’ve explored tons of spooky places!” Zipp spoke in determination, but Ivory's violet eyes grew stormy. “You’ve never been anyplace like this.”