Lydia hummed, drawing in the margins of her notes as the gang sat in biology, the teacher, Dr. Yantz, talking about cicadas. She sat behind Shaggy, occasionally tapping his shoulder to get a Nature Sliver chip. "The cicada... The most perfect insect in a decidedly imperfect world." Dr. Yantz smiled, bringing the bug up to his face and kissing its shell. Lydia made a face, leaning past Shaggy to watch as the teacher put the cicada back into its tree habitat.
"Did he just kiss a bug?" Fred whispered, clearly meant just for Daphne, but was loud enough for Lydia to hear, "Yeah... Isn't he just the best?" Daphne sighed dreamily.
"The cicada's life cycle is fascinating. As grubs, they burrow into the ground, where they spend the next seventeen years." Dr. Yantz explained calmly. Scooby cleaned forward from his seat, tapping Velma on the shoulder to offer her a Nature Slivers chip, only for her to wave him off, going back to writing notes. "Changes in our ecosystem, though, could wipe out the precious cicada." The teacher started walking down the rows of desks.
"Which is why we need to keep watch on companies who pollute nature. Isn't that right, Shaggy and Scooby?" Dr. Yantz glared at the two as he stopped directly in front of them. "Are you aware that Grandma Moonbeam's Nature Slivers are manufactured by Destroido? And every bite you take supports to the biggest polluter in Crystal Cove?"
Shaggy looked confused, "No... but they're, like, super good!" He mumbled through a full mouth as Lydia stretched over his shoulder to take a few chips, Scooby nodding along, "Reah!" He held his bag up to Dr. Yantz, "Want one?"
The man scoffed, crossing his arms, "I don't even know why I let you take this class..." He grumbled. Just then, the bell rang, everyone packing up and walking out generally quickly.
Fred took the lead, actually looking a bit angry, "That guy's a total nut!" He frowned, Daphne following after with a dreamy look on her face, "I think Dr. Yantz is amazing..." She smiled, Fred quickly turning to look at her surprised, "What? What're you talking about?"
Daphne shrugged, "Well... for one thing, he's... he's intelligent!" "And cute." Velma piped up, the two continuing to walk off as the guys stopped, Lydia bumping into Fred's back, "Ow-" "Yeah? Well, I wonder how cute he'd look caught in one of my traps! A real mean one!"
"Like... are you okay, Freddie?" Shaggy asked, Fred looking at him confused, "Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be okay?" "You're looking green." Lydia piped up, the blond just looking more confused as Shaggy nodded, "Jealous!" Scooby clarified.
Fred scoffed a bit, "What? What're you talking about? Jealous- I'm not jealous." He shook his head. Shaggy made a face as he stops chewing, sticking a few fingers in his mouth and pulling out a slip of paper, squinting to read it, "It's a note from Mr. E! Must've been in my bag of Nature Silvers... He says there's a mystery waiting for us at the hospital. There's been some sort of weird accident!"
Fred took the note, reading it over, "What kind of accident?" Shaggy coughed, another piece of paper coming out of his mouth, reading it over, "He says we'll find out when we get there!" Lydia frowned, "I could've ate one of those notes!"
"Let's get Daphne and Velma, then get over to the hospital!" Fred smiled, patting Lydia's shoulder.
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Mystery Incorporated ended up walking across the street to the hospital, a police cruiser parked outside. "Looks like Mr. E's right! Something's up, that's Sheriff Stone's car." Velma pointed out as they passed the car. "Like, maybe we can stop by the hospital cafeteria when we're done and get some of that delicious hospital gelatin." Shaggy smiled.
Scooby nodded along eagerly, "Reah! With saltines! And applesauce!" "In gelatin.." Shaggy sighed happily, the two walking off. Lydia followed, Velma behind her as Fred kept Daphne back to talk. "You know hospital food sucks, right?" Lydia asked, Shaggy looking at her confused, "Like, no way, man. Sure, some of it sucks, but, like, the gelatin is perfect!" He grinned, putting a arm over her shoulders before eagerly walking faster for the hospital cafeteria as she complained about taking food from people who need it.
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Lydia had about four gelatin cups hidden in her sweater pockets as the gang- Shaggy, Scooby, Velma and herself- walked down a hallway to meet Fred and Daphne, who are standing in front of Fred's dad and Sheriff Bronson Stone. The Sheriff slammed a patient room door shut as Fred tried to get a glimpse inside.
"Can we help you with anything?" Fred asked, his father shaking his head, "No. Go away." "Who's the patient?" Velma added, the mayor glancing at her, "An employee at Destroido. Go away."
"Like, what happened to him?" Shaggy further questioned, stepping in the direction of the room only for Fred Jones Senior to jump in front of him, frowning, "It's classified. Go away."
Sheriff Stone cringed, hands wiping at his clothes like something was crawling on him, "It was this horrible creature!! Made of thousands and thousands of cicada bugs!! They got in his hair, in his nose..." He made a squeal of disgust, "All over him!! Ew, ew, gross!! Oh, ick!!" Lydia cringed, rolling his shoulders.
"What are you, three years old?" Mayor Jones rolled his eyes at Stone, then turned back to the gang, "Alright, fine, it's a bug creature, okay? And I'm not going to let a golden opportunity like this go to waste! I already talked with the city council. We're gonna have a Cicada Bug Creature Festival this weekend! And the crowds will be huge!" Mayor Jones grinned, then dropped it to stare seriously at the gang, "And if you have any human decency left in your hearts," He jabbed a finger on Fred's chest, "You will not get involved!"
He walked away, Sheriff Stone opening the door for him while giving a warning glare, pointing at the kids before following after, the door swinging shut behind him. Fred frowned, hands landing on his hips, "Sorry, dad, but we can't do that."
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Lydia sat on one of the waiting room chairs, bored as she watched the television show a Grandma Moonbeam's Nature Slivers commercial. "I want to bite some Nature Slivers..." Scooby whined, laying down on the ground, "I'm starving." He huffed, Shaggy frowning, "Like, me too!"
Fred walked over, smiling confidently as he nodded, "Okay, gang, I got it! Room 24B!" He motioned for everyone to get up, them following him down the hall. There had been another cicada monster attack on someone, and this time Mayor Jones and Sheriff Stone weren't waiting there to stop the gang from doing some sleuthing.
Daphne pushed open the hospital room door, sticking her head in. "Mr. Dederdee?" She asked, slowly opening the door wider to step inside, the rest of the gang following. "Mind if we ask you a few questions?" "We heard about your bug attack last night." Velma added.
The man laying in the hospital bed nodded, sighing, "Come on in..." He spoke hoarsely, "I'm not going anywhere." There was a woman sitting at his bedside, patting his hand, "Well, I should go... Feel better, dear." She smiled, getting up and turning.
"Grandma Moonbeam??" Both Scooby and Shaggy gasped, Shaggy grabbing her hand to shake it while giggling excitedly, "We're, like, your biggest fans!!" "Nature Slivers, yummy!" Scooby nodded along happily. "They're kinda good." Lydia shrugged, giving an awkward thumbs up from beside Daphne.
The woman smiled kindly, "Well, now, isn't that nice? After I sold my company to Destroido, Hugh here has been instrumental in making them so popular among young people." Grandma Moonbeam informed, turning to look at the man in bed who smiled tiredly. "You work at Destroido, too?" Fred asked, Dederdee nodding.
"Just like the other victim..." Velma hummed, Grandma Moonbeam giving one last smile before leaving the room, "I'll leave you all to talk." She spoke as Daphne and Velma stepped to the side to let her pass.
Lydia glanced at the man in the bed, "Do you know why you were attacked?" She asked, Dederdee shaking his head, "Not really... I got a call couple'a weeks ago, some deep-voiced creepy guy said if I didn't quit my job at Destroido, something terrible would happen to me." As he spoke, the heart rate monitor he was attached to started picking up in speed, "I never thought would be-" He stopped to shudder, grabbing at the bedsheets as the heart rate monitor went off the charts, "Disgusting... bugs! Bugs, bugs!! All over me!" He shouted, starting to itch at his skin.
Lydia is lightly pulled away from him, Shaggy pulling her out of the room while Daphne waved goodbye, the gang standing outside, "Thanks again, Mr. Dederdee." She called, the gang stepping away from the door as a announcement was made on the hospital PA system.
The blue haired girl watched as some nurses ran past them, the gang on their way to the elevator. "Good question and answer session, eh, gang?" Fred smiled, the elevator opening for them to step in. "Uh, hit lobby, will ya, Shag?" He asked, Shaggy hitting the button for the lobby.
The door opened, though clearly not to the lobby. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't look like the lobby. Did you hit the right button?" Lydia asked, Shaggy nodding, hitting the same button multiple times over, "See? Lobby!"
"Hm... Must be broken!" Scooby shrugged. Fred and Daphne stepped out first, the blond searching the wall for a light switch before flicking it on. Lydia frowned as she and the rest of the gang stepped out of the elevator, she could swear she heard what sounded like bugs buzzing around. The lights flickered on, one by one, the one closest to them sparks, everyone flinching a bit.
The elevator doors slid shut, Shaggy making a panicked sound as he ran back to try and pull the doors open. Everyone seemed to notice the buzzing sound now, looking for where it was coming from. A vent suddenly burst open, cicadas swarming towards them. The gang quickly dropped to the floor, trying to cover their faces. Lydia crouched, hiding the lower half of her face in her sweater, hands covering her ears.
"Cease your useless investigations, or something terrible will happen to you tomorrow night. Heed my warning. Heed it! Heed!!" A giant Cicada Creature formed from the shadows, threatening them before it slowly fell apart, cicada's breaking off to return to the vents.
It was silent as everyone stared at where the creature was before the elevator dinged, doors opening as a collective sigh of relief swept over the kids.
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Lydia was shaking her head, hands pushing through her hair, feeling like her hair had cicada's still in it. The gang were back in the Mystery Machine, Fred driving as they tried to come up with a game plan, "There has to be some reason all the victims work for Destroido..." Velma sighed as Scooby coughed, spitting up a cicada. It flew around, Daphne giving a panicked yelp as it flew past her and out the window.
"Like, maybe whoever's behind it doesn't like the company." Shaggy offered, Daphne shrugging, "But who could train thousands of bugs to attack like that?" She asked, Fred suddenly slamming on the breaks, knocking everyone sitting the back off balance as they yelped.
"The same person who kisses them!" Fred grinned, everyone looking at him confused, "What?" Daphne made a face, the blond nodding, "Dr. Yantz! It all fits! Remember what he said in class about Destroido being one of the biggest polluters in Crystal Cove? He hates that company!"
Daphne scoffed, shaking her head, "It's not Dr. Yantz." Velma hummed a bit, thinking before nodding, "Wait a minute, Daphne. Fred might be on to something. Dr. Yantz is an expert on cicada. He could have trained them to-" "It's not Dr. Yantz!"
"It kinda makes sense, Red." Lydia piped up, leaning over the front seat between Fred and Daphne as she pouted, "How do you know it's not him?" She further asked, the redhead clearly struggling, "Because... because... because..."
"Because he's cute? I see the way you look at him! Did he give you his phone number? You've probably already texted him!" Lydia sat back down at Fred's sudden bombardment of questions, "What if I did? And what if we made plans to go to the trap exhibit? Without you!!" Daphne shot back, everyone in the back giving each other confused and concerned looks.
Fred stuttered out in surprise, frowning and gripping the steering wheel tighter, "We're going to settle this right now!"
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Everyone stood out in the hall while Fred slowly opened the door to Dr. Yantz's classroom. Lydia was standing in the back, hearing Fred and Scooby quietly mumble before both stuck their heads out of the doorway as he shut the door again. "Let's go." Fred nodded, acting as if he wanted the gang to jump the teacher.
"You're making a big mistake, Fred!" Daphne huffed, Fred frowning, "Big mistakes is what I do!" Then they glared, Lydia wondered if the rest of the gang would have to pick a side to stay with like kids with divorced parents.
Fred opened the door again, wider this time, and slowly crawled in. Dr. Yantz was sitting on the ground in front of the plant he kept his cicada bugs on. He was playing an instrument- something that seemed to act similar to a handheld lyre harp- and singing to the bugs.
The rest of the gang followed Fred in crawling, though Daphne stayed outside and Lydia just walked in as Fred suddenly jumped at Dr. Yantz, pointing a finger at him, "The jig is up, Dr. Yantz!" Everyone stood up, the blond standing in front as he frowned, "Watch out for his weapon, gang. No doubt he's got the cicada under some sort of brain control!"
Dr. Yantz looked at his instrument confused before glaring up at them, "I was putting them to sleep, it's their bedtime." Shaggy gave a short laugh of disbelief, "That's a good one! Right, Scooby-Doo- huh?" Everyone glanced down to find the dog asleep on the ground, peacefully snoring away.
"What is going on here?" Yantz asked, Fred getting closer with another finger in his face, "You know exactly what's going on, girlfriend stealer!" "You've been using cicada bugs to attack employees of Destroido." Velma clarified, the teacher looking at them with shocked confusion, "Are you insane? I'm calling the police!!"
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Lydia sat on a desk, picking at her nails as Shaggy and Scooby were explaining what was happening to Sheriff Stone, Velma explained everything to Mayor Jones, and Fred talked to Daphne about Dr. Yantz. "Quiet! Now, one at a time!" Mayor Jones huffed, arms crossing as Fred almost childishly pointed at Yantz, "Dr. Yantz is the Cicada Creature, dad!"
Sheriff Stone jumped a bit, away from Yantz as he cringed, "You are? Ew!!" Fred's dad shook his head, "Let's not jump to conclusions!" Then he leaned over to the teacher, "But, if you are the Cicada Creature, would you mind showing up at the Cicada Festival tomorrow? It'd be a big help." He whispered, though still loud enough for everyone else to hear him.
"I am not the Cicada Creature!" Yantz frowned. Mayor Jones stared at Yantz unconvinced, "Of course you're not!" He shrugged, then leaned in again, "Show up around six o'clock, I'll have a photographer there." He whispered again, the man shaking his head, "If you don't get these kids out of here, right now, I'm pressing charges!!"
Sheriff Stone was quick to shove the kids out of the room, almost getting Lydia to eat the ground with how he pushed her off the desk she was sitting on. The door was slammed shut behind them before the gang looked at Mayor Jones and Sheriff Stone. "But, dad, we have to find out who the creature is, and fast!" Fred frowned.
"Why? So you can ruin everything?" Fred Senior questioned, clearly annoyed, "No, because it said it was going to attack us tomorrow night!" Daphne informed, the mayor practically lighting up at the news, "Tomorrow night? That's wonderful!"
"What??" The gang all nearly shouted, Fred's dad immediately looking calm as he realized his slip up, "I mean... terrible, awful! Fortunately, I know what to do. Come to the Cicada Festival tomorrow night, so we can... protect you! Six o'clock." He leaned over to Sheriff Stone, this time actually effectively whispering before he smiled at the gang, "Well, now! Who wants to go out for a cheesecake?"
Mystery Incorporated looked at each other, clearly considering the offer as they were ushered out of the school.
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By the next day, the gang were sitting around K-Ghoul, Velma reading a newspaper before sighing, "Looks like that cicada thing struck again last night." She frowned, Daphne and Shaggy leaning over her shoulders, "And, like, we're next! Tonight!" Shaggy complained, frowning worriedly.
"Hey, don't worry, I've got it all figured out! I was up all night building a trap, and believe me, we'll catch it!" Fred smiled, Scooby whimpering, "Or die trying..." He mumbled. "Is it a giant electric fly swatter? I think we should use a giant electric fly swatter." Lydia hummed.
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Later that night, the gang arrived at the cicada Bug Creature Festival, Fred shutting the back doors to the Mystery Machine as he turned around, "Okay, remember, we need to lure the creature here to the Mystery Machine, where the trap is." He reminded them, everyone nodding, "How do we do that? Scooby asked.
Velma gave a smile, "Easy! We're the bait." She nodded, Shaggy's shoulders dropping, "I was afraid you'd say that..." He laughed nervously before the gang dispersed into the festival.
Lydia wandered off with Shaggy and Scooby, dodging little kids wearing cicada hats eating chili dogs. "Do you guys ever get the feeling people are keeping stuff from us?" She questioned as Scooby ate multiple chili dogs and she held onto one.
Shaggy was very focused on a festival game, one of the ones where you toss balls into tilted bins to get a prize. "What do you mean?" Scooby asked, looking confused at her, "There's just... I figured out what Pericles said to me, but it just made me more confused." Lydia explained, "And after a lot of... struggling to do research, I think Glory was- is? One of the missing kids from the original Mystery Incorporated... God, but don't tell the rest of the gang, I wanna get facts in order before I tell them and get a dozen questions." She mumbled, glad to finally tell someone while aware of the chili dog she was holding getting taken from her.
Something plush replaced the warm food, making her look at her hand confused. Shaggy had taken the chili dog back- she had been holding it for him while he played- and replaced it with a equally creepy and cute plush cicada. "Oh." She blinked, "Cool, thanks, man." She mumbled, Shaggy nodding as he ate, attempting to duck his head down so she wouldn't see the slowly rising blush appear on his face, though she could easily see it.
"Like, no problem, Lyds. And, like, I'm sure if you talk to Glory, she'll clear it up for you! You and her are, like, pretty close already." He responded as Scooby gasped, making them both look down at him. The dog simply stared at Shaggy for a few seconds before slowly smiling like he knew something, the boy shaking his head rapidly at his dogs sudden smile before laughing loudly and awkwardly. "We should go catch up with the others! Like, right now!" He tossed his garbage into a nearby garbage bin, walking off quickly.
Scooby giggled a bit, chasing after his best friend and owner as Lydia looked confused, but slowly followed after them while hugging the plush cicada.
They found the gang easily, Mayor Jones and a whole camera crew talking to Fred and Daphne, "Like, dudes!" Shaggy spoke up, pointing towards the House of Spooky Things, "I just saw Dr. Yantz go into the House of Spooky Things!"
Fred smiled, "Just the break we need! Let's follow him!" He already started moving, Daphne placing her hands on her hips as she frowned, Velma approaching from beside her, "You don't still think it's him?" He simply shrugged, "There's only one way to find out!"
The gang entered the House of Spooky Things, the lighting a dim purple and blue. Fred pulled back a curtain, triggering a Sasquatch cutout to jump out at them, a recorded roar heard. They all jumped a bit before sighing in relief, realizing it's fake. Fred, Daphne and Velma continued onwards, Shaggy pausing to grab the cutout's arm and bend it a bit, "Like, that's not very spooky..." He frowned, Scooby making a sound in agreement.
They continued down the hall, a clown face dropping from the ceiling with a recorded laugh, "Nope, not spooky." "Not spooky at all!" Shaggy and Scooby agreed, Lydia following after them and just waiting for karma to get them. On a wall, there was a silhouette of a witch on a broom with a witch's laugh being played. "And, like, this is definitely not spooky."
Two walls suddenly came down from the ceiling, Lydia yelping as she narrowly avoided getting hurt by a wall. "Now, this is spooky..." Shaggy mumbled, laughing worriedly. The familiar sound of buzzing cicadas started, everyone huddling closer, "What's that noise?" Velma asked, only for the billions of cicadas to start swarming together, forming the Cicada Creature.
"You will pay the price!!" It shouted, Fred turning and hitting one of the non-metal walls, causing it to tear. He shouldered through it, falling through. They continued to run, Shaggy stopping momentarily as they realized their prime suspect was sitting at a picnic table eating a hot dog. "Like, I don't think it's Dr. Yantz!" He called out, Lydia grabbing his hand to keep moving as Velma shoved him forward, "Really? Ya think??" Velma scowled.
"Lead it back to the Mystery Machine!!" Fred shouted, the group of teens still running even as cicada's swarmed them and started to land on their bodies. "Ew, ew, ew!" Lydia shouted, immedietly covering her mouth as she felt the bugs land and crawl on her. Fred must have activated the trap, the sound of a vacuum overcoming the sound of bugs buzzing. Her hair was flying in her face, the rest of the gang no longer covered in the bugs as Scooby quickly moved to grab the tube for the vacuum in his mouth, walking closer to the Cicada Creature as it slowly shrunk.
A person in a beekeepers suit was revealed once the last of the bugs were sucked up, dropping to the ground as Scooby quickly moved to grab the hat and reveal the real culprit.
"Grandma Moonbeam?" They all called out, surprised. Sheriff Stone, Mayor Jones, and the photographer had come running out, the mayor questioning where the bugs went. "You're the Cicada Creature? But why?" Fred asked, everyone ignoring the mayors questions.
Grandma Moonbeam scowled, "Isn't it obvious? I wanted to shut down Destroido!" She started as Sheriff Stone handcuffed her, "I found out they added a secret ingredient to make my Nature Slivers more tasty... landfill waste!" She explained, Lydia suddenly feeling sick at realizing she ate some, "I demanded that they return to my original, healthy recipe, but they refused. And because they owned it, there was nothing I could do! I vowed to get even. I saw a Norwegian documentary about a researcher using soundwaves to control penguins' movements. I decided to adapt the idea for my revenge. Since I didn't have any penguins... I used cicadas. And I would have succeeded, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling young people!"
"Well, now it's the big house for you, grandma. Come on, let's go." Sheriff Stone frowned, leading her away as the mayor gave a frustrated sigh, "Why can't anything in this town ever turn out to be real?" He frowned, walking away.
"Glad we could help, dad!" Fred called back to his father, smiling proudly now that the mystery was solved. "Well, another mystery successfully solved!" Velma nodded, arms crossing.
Shaggy grinned, petting Scooby-Doo, "I'll say! Like, who's up for a trip to the Clam Cabin? It's all-you-can-eat krill night!" The dog gasped excitedly, "Krill? Oh, yummy!" He smiled, licking his chops.
Daphne smiled, placing a hand on Fred's chest when he walked over to her, leaning against him, "Sorry, gang, but Fred and I are gonna have to pass. We've got a date!" She giggled excitedly, him smiling down at her.
They walked off, Lydia smiling as she held onto the plush cicada, "Well, I'm happy they figured that out, was worried they would keep being mad at each other." She commented, Velma making a sound of agreement, "I'm going to go check on my mom at her stall in the festival, you guys have fun without me." She waved before going back into the festival.
"Like, you wanna head to the Clam Cabin with us?" Shaggy asked, smiling at Lydia as she shrugged before nodding, "Might as well."