Monster in the Family

From Stangers to New Owners

Driving down the road that was between a sea of trees, the Mystery Machine's headlights shined brightly, illuminating everything in front of it. Inside was of course, the infamous Mystery Inc. Fred Jones, who was focusing on the road ahead, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley were chatting, and Shaggy Rogers and Scooby Doo were in the back, devouring a box of Scooby Snax. It had been quite the peaceful night for the gang, so far nobody's been notified of any recent mysteries that needed to be solved.

The gang was just making their way back to the headquarters, ready to call it in for the night. As they passed a sign, and as Shaggy reached for another box, the group suddenly heard what sounded like a wail. And it sounded close by too. Fred immediately placed his foot on the brake, the mystery machine halting to a stop. Shaggy and Scooby got closer to each other, trembling. "Like, what was that?!", Shaggy cried. "Reah! Rhat ras rat?!", Scooby agreed, wrapping his arms around the other. "I don't know, maybe it was an animal?", Daphne questioned, trying to glance out the window that Fred was next to. Another loud whine filled the air, sending small shivers down the gang's spines. "Jinkies! Maybe it's an injured animal?", Velma asked. Fred reached over and grabbed a flashlight. "Well, there's only one way to find out...", he said, opening the van door and stepping out.

"Fred, are you out of your mind, man?! What if it like, tries to eat you or something?!", Shaggy cried, cowering behind the front seats. "Relax Shag, I'll keep my distance until I know what it is.", Fred reassured, turning the flashlight on. Velma stepped out as well. "Let me come with you..I'd like to know what it is..", she said, walking over to Fred. He nodded, and the two started walking into the direction where they believed the sound was coming from. "There's like a monster out there, I just know it!", Shaggy whispered, covering his hands with his face. Scooby whined. "Roor Red rand Relma.." "Guys, I'm sure they'll be okay. We've been through lots of dangerous situations before.", Daphne tried to reassure, turning around.

In the forest, Fred and Velma carefully made their way past the trees, pointing the flashlight in different directions to see if they could catch whatever was making the noise. The two heard a small whimper, making them stop. "We must be close...", Velma whispered, looking around. As they took a few more steps, Fred pointed his flashlight downward, and gasped. "What?", Velma asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice, before her eyes laid on what he was seeing. Bathed in the light, there was a small trembling creature. It wasn't looking at the pair, as the it was trying to shield its eyes from the bright light. It whimpered some more, before slowly turning to look at the two with those piercing blue eyes.

"What is that thing...?", Fred asked, shock on his face. "I...I don't know...", Velma admitted, looking dumbfounded. The little creature backed up a little, and the two could see fear in its eyes. A tiny whine escaped its mouth, as they could see tears dripping down its face. Its bushy lizard-like tail was tucked under its legs. Realizing that the creature was afraid that they were going to hurt it, he slowly got down on his knees, looking over at it with a sympathetic expression. "Hey...uh, we're not going to hurt you...if that's what you're thinking...", he said. Velma stared down at Fred, before looking back at the creature. "Are...are you lost?", she gently asked. The monster seemed to shake its head, fresh tears welling up in its eyes.

"I wonder what happened...what's a....well, whatever it is, what's it doing out here all alone?", Fred asked Velma, looking up at her. Thinking for a bit, a realization hit her before looking down sadly at Fred. "It's a stretch but...I think this little guy might be orphaned..", Velma simply stated. Eyes widening a little, Fred looked back at the little monster, some of the pieces starting to come together. It did make sense, and it seemed like it just happened recently too. This whole situation felt a little weird though. Usually, they were often capturing monsters, and most of the time, they turned out to be people in costumes, or robots. But honestly, he felt a little compelled to help this monster.

'I feel like we should help it...but..what if it's a device that someone's using for a scheme? Then again....we have met real aliens before...so not everything can be a fake...', Velma thought to herself. She saw Fred reaching his arms out, motioning for the monster to come closer. "Hey...come here, little guy. We won't bite...", Fred gently said, a small smile on his face. The creature was obviously reluctant, lifting up one of its feet, unsure of whether it should oblige or not. Pushing her worries past, Velma kneeled down a bit, also smiling at the little monster. "Yeah, it's okay...", she reassured. Stepping towards the two slowly, the tears seemed to stop, the creature looking up at them with question.

"That's it, come on...come here buddy...", Fred cooed like he was talking to a dog, flexing his fingers in and out. Velma watched as the monster walked closer to Fred, still with hesitation, but it seemed to calm down a little. As it finally was in front of him, Fred gently brought his hands down, placing them on the monster's sides. It twitched a little from the contact, but then saw that it was just being picked up. Fred stood up, the monster placed securely in his arms. He smiled down at it, gently stroking its fur. "That's right..you're okay. You're going to be alright..", he whispered. Velma smiled at the sight, looking over at the direction that their van was at. "You think we should take it back to the van?", she asked, tapping Fred's shoulder. He nodded. "Yeah...this little guy can really use some help..", he said. They both noticed that the monster had calmed down more, and it even seemed like it was enjoying the comfort. The two walked back, Fred keeping the monster in a firm but gentle grip.

Daphne glanced out the window again, seeing the flashlight coming out from behind the trees. She then saw the figure of Velma and Fred, a smile appearing on her face. She glanced over at Shaggy and Scooby. "I told you they'd be alright!", she said, opening the door. "Did you guys find what was making that noise?", she asked Fred, who came up to the van, before glancing down at what was in his arms. She gasped a little. "Oh we definitely found something, alright..", Velma stated, sitting back down in her usual spot. "Is it food?", Shaggy asked excitedly, sitting up. Fred chuckled. "No...it's actually, well don't freak out guys, but it's a monster..", he explained. Both Scooby and Shaggy shot up, fearful expressions on their faces. "Zoinks! Why'd you bring it in?!", the latter shouted.

"Calm down Shaggy, it's not dangerous, at least we think so..", Velma said. "Yeah, this one's just a little guy. A baby...", Fred added, holding it up a little. Shaggy and Scooby stared at the thing with dumbfounded expressions. "Well, it's certainly cute..", Daphne quietly said, smiling a little. "But Shaggy has a point, why did you bring it in?" "Freddie's got a bit of baby fever..", Velma said with a smirk. Fred rolled his eyes at that comment. "It was all alone, and Velma believed that it had lost its parents or something.", he explained. "Oh...poor little thing..", Daphne said, staring down at the now asleep monster in Fred's arms. "So I think what's best is we take it back to headquarters!", Fred added. "What?! But what if it like, goes crazy, and eat us?!", Shaggy cried. "Reah! Razy!", Scooby agreed. "Hey, it seems like he's already warmed up to me, and plus, if he stays around us, I'm sure he wouldn't think of doing such a thing..", Fred reassured. "Anyway, can someone hold him? I gotta drive." "How about you do it, Shaggy?", Daphne asked. "Why me?!", he demanded. "I mean, he's going to be with us for a while, so you might as well and try to bond with him." Shaggy tried to object, and Daphne was already handing the sleeping monster to him, so he just sighed and took it into his hands.

As Fred continued to drive, Shaggy and Scooby stared at the creature. "Huh, well, I guess he's kinda cute...huh, Scoob?", Shaggy asked glancing over at the Great Dane. "Hmmm...reah..", Scooby muttered. "That reminds me, we should give him a name.", Velma suddenly said. Everyone thought about what they could possibly name the newest addition. As Shaggy looked down at the creature some more, a name popped into his head. "What about Batty? I mean, he kinda looks like a bat!" Fred and the girls smiled. "Batty..I like that..", he muttered. "Batty it is!", Velma declared. Shaggy and Scooby smiled at each other, as they looked down at Batty. They weren't scared or suspicious of him anymore, already starting to like the little guy. As they got closer to their destination, Shaggy and Scooby agreed to share Scooby Snax with him