SCOOBY-DOO: Marie, Rein du Sange

Scooby-Doo, DC Comics, and related characters are property of Warner Brothers.

Chapter 1: Old Friends, New Mysteries

Glenn's Diner- Weinville, Louisiana

"…and in other news, New Orleans police have found another victim in a bizarre string of homicides. The victim was found dead and drained of blood in a French Quarter alleyway shortly after dawn. While the NOPD has yet to find a suspect, local gossip claims it to be the work of one Marie, Rein du Sange- an entity that has allegedly visited the Crescent City on multiple occasions in the past-"

There was a subtle clicking sound as one of the diner staff changed the channel.

"Well, it looks like we've got a mystery on our hands." a young man with a blond pompadour said.

"Freddy, perhaps we should leave this to the police- I mean, homicide investigations are a bit beyond our pay grade." a redheaded woman in a purple top and green scarf replied.

"C'mon, Daph- where's your sense of adventure? Besides, don't you have a black belt in karate?"

"Yes, but we're a bit…undermanned as it were."

Just then, Fred's eyes lit up.

"Wait- aren't Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma supposed to be in the area?"

Daphne let out a sigh as she grabbed her cell phone.

"And here we go again…" she said to nobody in particular.

Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls- several miles up the road and several minutes later

A six-wheeled van with a red paint job and an impressive amount of luggage tied to its roof made its way down the winding side road that led to the nearby Calloway Military School.

"Like, are we sure this is a good idea?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, it's not a bad one." a nearby Constantine replied from his spot in the back of the van.

"Besides, it's a good first step towards the betterment of ties between humanity and monsterdom-" Velma began.

"I meant taking them with us and the gang to, like, check out that business in New Orleans that you said Daphne mentioned in her call."

"Considering the general weirdness in that city, I think they'll blend in pretty well. I mean, the only other place they'd blend in better would be Gotham-"

"Sorry for butting in on this lovely conversation, but there's a bloody turn coming up!"

Shaggy promptly made a hard turn, causing some of the luggage to threaten to come loose. Fortunately for all parties involved, the ties held, and the van continued on towards Weinville.

"We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down, so we grabbed an alligator and fought another round! We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind- and when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind!" Phantasma sang before breaking out into her distinctive laugh.

"…wh y'd they do that to the poor alligator?" Tanis asked.

" It's poetic license, Tanis. They didn't actually use an alligator as a makeshift cannon." Velma replied.

Just then, the van came to a sudden stop in front of a textbook example of Googie architecture, an old neon sign with the words "GLENN'S DINER" periodically flashing before them. Sitting there in the parking lot was a '60s-style blue panel van with a distinctive horizontal green stripe going around the body.

"So, how do we want to handle the issue of who goes in which vehicle?" Shaggy asked.

"Simple- you, Scooby, Scrappy, and I ride in the Mystery Machine with the others, while the Leaguers and the girls take your van." Velma replied.

Right on cue, Fred and Daphne exited the diner, prompting the four other members of Mystery Inc. to disembark.

"Nice to see you guys again!" the former said.

"Like, nice to see you too!" Shaggy replied, taking his friend into a vigorous handshake.

There was a brief silence as the assembled crew let everything sink in.

"So, what brings you around this neck of the woods?" Velma asked.

"I'm writing a book- a Southern Gothic type of thing, so Fred and I figured we'd go out and do some field research." Daphne explained.

Velma gave a quick nod before her mind drifted to more current matters.

"Um, we've got some friends in the other van. So if you see it following us, don't worry about it." she said.

"Thanks for letting us know." Fred replied.

A few minutes later, both the Mystery Machine and Shaggy's van pulled out of the parking lot, bound for New Orleans.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

For my international readers, Phantasma's little performance here is an excerpt from "The Battle of New Orleans", a country song originally written and performed by folk musician Johnny Driftwood, but popularized by a cover version performed by Johnny Horton that was released in 1959.

Unlike "In Blackest Day", this is going to have a heavier emphasis on the Scooby-Doo side of the crossover than the DC side, by which I mean there's going to be a proper mystery this time around. As for the DC elements, this going to reach deeper into that publisher's archives, by which I mean there's going to be more than a few relatively obscure characters showing up.

As for the inevitable question regarding whether or not Moonscar Island and its inhabitants will show up- well, all I'm currently willing to say on the matter is that the residents of the Lenoir estate may have some unwelcome guests who also feed upon their victims' life force…in a manner of speaking, that is.

As for the names of both the diner and the town, they are references to Glenn Leopold (writer of Ghoul School, Zombie Island, and Witch's Ghost) and Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein, respectively.