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Chapter 67

That nonsense with Heather made me sleep in this morning! Everyone could breathe easier now that Heather’s in Hell. We all had a late breakfast before assembling in the Gateway room. The Rider chance was fired up. “And the winners are…!” called X-PO as the hands slowed down to, “Tonje,” Tonje smiled, “and Mikhail!”

“Khorosho!” cheered Mikhail.

“Coordinates set,” reported Rusty.

“CHARGE!” I shouted.


We landed near the exit of a carnival at a road leading up to a spooky mansion on a hill. “Well,” mused Hongo, “Wataru might enjoy this.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Kurenai Wataru,” explained Hongo. “A Kamen Rider with a Vampire motif, Kamen Rider Kiva.”

“Great, a Kamen Rider out for blood,” muttered Mikhail.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about him,” assured Hongo. “He’s not a Vampire, per se.”

“Wait!” hissed Batman as we stopped at the rocks at the bottom of the hill. “I hear something.” We poked our heads around the rock and saw something that made Tonje, Mikhail, and I light up with glee! It was a 1960’s panel van with some custom details to the body with a blue and green paintjob with orange flowers and the words “The Mystery Machine” painted in orange. The owner, a blond young man in a blue shirt with a white sweater over it, blue pants, and an orange ascot, was leading his friends up to the mansion. The rest of the gang consisted of a red-headed woman in a purple shirt, headband, dress, and shoes with pink stockings and a green scarf, a brunette woman in thick, squared-rimmed glasses, a baggy orange turtle-neck sweater, and a red, pleated miniskirt, a lanky, long-necked man in a green V-neck shirt, brown bell-bottoms, and a scraggly beard, and a brown Great Dane with black spots and a collar with the license reading “SD”!

“It’s them!” I whispered.

“Mystery Incorporated!” chuckled Mikhail. “I’ve always had a crush on Velma!”

“Eh, I prefer Daphne,” replied Tonje.

“Who are they?” asked Wyldstyle.

“The blonde’s Fred, the red-head’s Daphne, the glasses-wearer is Velma, the scraggly guy is Shaggy, and the dog’s Scooby-Doo!” answered Mikhail.

“They’re paranormal investigators,” I explained.

“Those kids?” asked Batman.

“Those kids,” I said hotly, “have solved as many crimes as you!” Batman scratched his head.

“I swear those kids look familiar,” he muttered. “Must have been some look-a-likes in Gotham.”

“Well, gang,” announced Fred as they arrived at the mansion’s door, “this is my uncle Arthur’s house.” He pulled on a rope and it rang a creepy bell, making Scooby jump into Shaggy’s arms.

“Arthur Jones, the famous explorer,” recalled Velma. “Do you really believe he’s seen a mummy?”

“He’s certainly thinks he has,” replied Fred. “He said it’s after the Diamond Scarab he found in Egypt.”

“Then, it could be here,” guessed Daphne.

“Come on, you don’t really believe that, do you?” asked Velma.

“It’s worth splitting up to find clues for,” remarked Fred. Here it comes. “Hey, guys,” he called to Shaggy and Scooby, “can you check out the old fun-fair? That’s one of the places the mummy’s been seen.”

“Fun-fair?” gulped Shaggy.

“Ghost Train!” wailed Scooby. I swear he added extra r’s in there.

“Say, Velma,” mused Fred, “do you think that fun-fair has a cotton candy machine?” That changed their tune quick.

“Cotton Candy?!” cheered Scooby. He jumped out of Shaggy’s arms. “Let’s go!”

“Right behind you, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal!” called Shaggy as they took off to the Mystery Machine and drove past us while the rest of the gang.

“Come on,” directed Batman. “That Diamond Scarab sounds like our Foundation Element.”

“What do you suppose his mother wants the Scarab for?” asked Gandalf. “Perhaps as jewelry?”

“What?” asked Batman.

“Different type of mummy, Gandalf,” elaborated Wyldstyle. We approached the door, but it shut on us.

“Oh, it appears to have locked behind those good people,” mused Gandalf as he tried it again.

“Chroma locked, it looks like,” observed Wyldstyle. “Haven’t tried it out in a while. Let’s find the Chroma Discs!” We first checked the shed and saw that inside was tangled in vines.

“I think I’m going to need some help with this one,” muttered Batman.

“I got this,” called Mikhail. “Henshin.” He changed into Gallop and changed steels.

“Batman Steel!” announced his belt. They fired their grapple guns and yanked hard, letting a garden hose assembly come out. We attached it to the side of the house and the fountain came on. It spat out a large bag. We looked in to see studs. 745,000 studs, to be exact. Our total is now 4,146,000.

“Bingo,” Batman said in a snarky tone, “just what we needed.”

   “Okay, that’s it,” I hissed. “I’m using my Keystone. Locate Keystone, activate! Initiate rift detection!” I found it by a garden full of weeds. “Identify source of rift!” The information beamed into my head. “Locate help from W-1-Z-4-R-D-0-F-0-Z!”

“That place again?!” asked Batman. A Munchkin came out of the rift and watered the weeds, making them turn into a variety of colorful flowers. The plants spat out a red Chroma Disc. All of a sudden, Wyldstyle’s gauntlet started buzzing.

“Already?” muttered Wyldstyle. “Where are the other…well, there’s blue on the porch roof.”

“I see yellow in the green house,” replied Tonje.

“And I know how to get you guys there,” called Batman. “Shift Keystone, activate!  Magenta, by the garden! Yellow, in the green house! Cyan, on the roof! Shift! Megumi! Cyan!”

“Not again!” I yelped as I was dumped onto the roof.

“Shift! Tonje! Yellow!” directed Batman. Tonje was sucked into the green house as Gallop cancelled his transformation.

“Chroma Keystone, activate!” called Wyldstyle. “Chroma lock, reveal!” The Lock Design had a blue circle, a yellow left L-shape, and a red right L-shape. “Chroma! Red! Batman! Chroma! Blue! Megumi! Chroma! Yellow! Tonje!” We went into the paint before Batman got us together and we took our respective places. The door opened and someone fell from the roof! We headed over to see if he was okay. He was a Japanese man with a black and gold bat-like gadget flying around.

“Hey, are you all right?!” I asked. The man got himself up.

“Where am I?” asked the man.

“You’re in another dimension, Wataru,” explained Hongo.

“That’s Wataru?” I asked.

“And I’m Kivat-bat the Third!” introduced the bat-gadget.

“Hongo?!” called Wataru. “Am I glad to see you! Er, who are those people behind you?”

“I’m Batman,” began Batman.

“Gandalf the Grey,” introduced Gandalf

“I’m Wyldstyle,” replied Wyldstyle

“I’m Lord Mikhail Kuznetsov,” bowed Mikhail

“Lady Tonje Haugen,” introduced Tonje.

“And I’m Queen Megumi Hishikawa of the Feudal Nerd Society,” I finished as I curtsied.

“Right now,” revealed Batman, “we need to get in and get that Scarab.”

“I’ve overheard what the Scarab is to these kids,” replied Wataru. “Mind if I come with you?”

“As long as you keep your fangs away from my neck, sure,” I hissed.

“I’m a Fangire/human hybrid, not a full Vampire,” assured Wataru. “And a Fangire doesn’t need fangs to drain you of life energy.”

“That makes me so much better,” I snarked as we stepped inside. When we came in, we saw Fred, Velma, and Daphne heading towards a door on the upper level. Not a good idea to have Danger-prone Daphne bringing up the rear. She was going slower than her friends and was taken by a spinning wall. Velma and Fred didn’t know as they went through the door. When they shut it, a portcullis barred the door.

“Did…she just get caught behind a rotating wall?” asked Batman.

“What’s with this place?” asked Kivat-bat the Third.

“We’re definitely in the older Scooby-Doo episodes,” I mused. “Search the place.” We started thumping on the walls when Gandalf felt a candle on the wall move. He figured it would lead to something useful and pulled it, letting the portrait of Arthur Jones move up, but all that was there was a box of Scooby Snacks. Gandalf became curious and opened the box, taking a taste of one. It was safe to say he wasn’t a big fan of them. He tossed the box out the window as well as the rest of the snack he tasted.

“I don’t get it!” snapped Wyldstyle. “I looked everywhere!” She leaned against a bookcase and it fell apart! “Oops!” she gulped. Then, she got that look. “Actually, maybe not so much an oops!” she cheered as she managed to build an electric coil.

“How did you do that?!” asked Wataru.

“Best not to question it,” advised Hongo.

“Gandalf, if you please,” I directed.

“Elemental Keystone, activate! Element of lightning, Megumi!” announced Gandalf. I felt the familiar buzz as I gained electric powers. I fired lightning at the coil, startling Wataru and Kivat-bat the Third.

“Are you sure you’re not a Fangire?!” yelped Wataru. “Kivat, is she a Fangire?”

“I don’t know!” replied Kivat-bat the…Kivat.

“It’s just technology beyond our understanding,” I assured. We heard gears moving and headed to the upper level to see the portcullis going up and the door opening.

“Let’s see what’s in the next room,” directed Batman. We headed into the room and saw knight armor and taxidermized animals. An open door allowed the lightning outside to show a spooky figure. “Whoa, who’s shadow was that?!” asked Batman. Further down the room, Velma went into another room while Fred pulled on a book. That triggered a trap-door beneath him to open. “I’m experiencing some déjà vu!” muttered Batman.

“Maybe you DID meet Mystery Inc.,” I mused. Another portcullis then blocked us from Velma.

“I think I can solve that,” called Wyldstyle as she pulled on a chain from the ceiling. It raised an owl’s cage to reveal a button. I pressed it and the portcullis raised again, allowing us passage. In the next room, Velma realized she was alone and became nervous. She didn’t see where she was going and tripped over something, making her glasses fly off her face.

“My glasses!” she cried as she felt around. “I can’t see a thing without my glasses!” She stumbled towards an open sarcophagus and blundered inside. It shut itself on her and a hook from the ceiling grabbed it, pulling the sarcophagus and its passenger up. The room had a distinct Egyptian theme.

“How many themes are in this house?!” asked Batman.

“Wait, I think we may be in the right room!” I called. “The Diamond Scarab was found in Egypt, right?”

“Good thinking,” praised Batman. “The Egyptian room would make sense. Let’s start searching!” We examined everything, although the Jackal sarcophagi took some time. Batman had a gadget for situations like that but needed our help. Mikhail, Tonje, and I changed into our Rider suits and activated Batman Steel. We used our grapple guns to yank the Jackals off and reveal pressure plates. Swing and I stepped on them and Velma’s sarcophagus came down, sans Velma. It split when it landed and revealed a large hammer, larger than any of us could lift.

“I may require assistance,” muttered Gandalf.

“I got this,” called Gallop as he exchanged i.d. tags.

“Gandalf Steel!” announced his belt. He and Gandalf then used their magic to lift the hammer and break the sarcophagus to reveal…nothing.

“I’ll get help,” I sighed. “Locate Keystone, activate! Initiate rift detection!” I found it near one of the Jackals. “Identify source of rift!” The information was beamed into my head. “Locate help from D-C-C-0-M-1-C-5!” The rift opened to reveal…!

“SUPERMAN!” swooned Wyldstyle. It was, indeed, Superman! He flew into the room and flashed a grin.

“Couldn’t you at least get Cyborg?!” asked Batman.

“As I’ve said numerous times on this adventure,” I hissed, “I can’t choose what I get from this thing!”

“Batman!” snarled Superman. “Let’s settle this rivalry once and for all!” Uh oh! They were gonna…! “Coffee or tea?!” We all lost our balance momentarily, fell down…”anime-style” I believe it’s called.

“Er, Superman,” I interjected, “we have a bigger problem than that. We’re trying to find something called the Diamond Scarab and we think it’s in this room.”

“You need my help?” asked Superman. “Never fear, the Man of Steel is here!” He then used his x-ray vision to scan the entire room. “Aha! There it is, behind that wall!”

“The one with the painting of an Egyptian Pharaoh?” I asked.

“The same!” confirmed Superman.

“I guess, if all Riders kicked it…” I mused as I felt around the wall.

“I have a more expedient solution,” declared Superman.

“Okay, what’s that?” I asked, my back still to him.

“For a start, you’d best get behind me,” advised Superman.

“Why would I…?” I asked as I turned around to see Superman winding up for a punch! I took his advice and quickly got behind him. He punched the wall and it turned into dust. There, at the other end of the room, on a red, velvet cushion, was a scarab beetle made of diamond! “Thank you, Superman!” I cheered.

“Happy to help!” replied Superman.

“Superman, before you go,” stopped Batman, “do you have any information on a guy called Lord Vortech?”

“Vortech?” muttered Superman. “He’s just a myth on Krypton, something to frighten children into behaving.”

“Our experience with him would like to disagree,” I argued.

“Uh oh,” gulped Superman as realization dawned on him. “This is a League matter, then?”

“The final battle will be,” replied Batman. “We’re gathering objects like the Scarab to keep them out of Vortech’s hands as well as pinpoint his stronghold’s location as there are hostages in there, Robin included. You should probably tell the Titans as well.”

“Got it,” replied Superman. “Farewell, everyone.”

“Bye, Superman,” I bid. “Dismiss help!” Superman then flew through the rift for him as we headed to the Scarab.

“I hope I’m not tempting fate by saying this is easy,” muttered Wataru. He did! A mummy grabbed the Scarab.

“At long last!” wheezed the mummy. “The Diamond Scarab! Behold!” The floor then gave way beneath us!

“WATARU, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” I shouted as we fell.