Scooby Doo! Meet Ellie Machine

The Siren's Song (Part 2)

The next morning, we were standing in front of the Destroido factory and headquarters as my dad gave a speech about their new product.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, and smelly activists in need of a shower," he started. "Destroido is proud to announce our newest product, guaranteed to be a hot seller until we start getting sued. Gummy Dummies, fortified with extra lead. Gummy Dummies: the candy designed to inhibit brain function so you can relax in blissful ignorance. It comes in cherry, lime, and pork."

"Mmm, pork," Shaggy and Scooby said in unison, eyeing the gummies. "What a terrible product!" Daphne exclaimed. "That's Destroido for you," Velma told her. I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't have any time for stupid questions, so grab some free samples and get lost," dad finished the conference, and walked away. Shaggy and Scooby raced to the table to get their hands on the free samples, while I trailed behind Fred, Daphne, and Velma as they approached my dad.

"Mr. Machine, we'd like permission to go out to your abandoned oil platform for research purposes," Velma told him. He sighed, looking tired and annoyed, and turned to my friends.

"I'm guessing it's for yet another mystery?" he asked. Velma nodded. He glared at them. "No. Now beat it before I have you arrested for trespassing," he said.

He then looked at me, and it seemed like his annoyance melted away. "Ellie. You doing okay?" he asked. I nodded. "I'm alright," I told him.

"When can I expect you home?"

"Not sure yet. Still working for Mr. E.?" I asked.

"He owns the company."

"So I'll take that as a yes."

He sighed and looked at my friends again. "You can go to the platform. But you're on your own for how you get there," he said, and walked away.

"Nice guy, isn't he?" I heard a Hispanic voice say from behind me.

I whipped around and glared at the activists approaching us. "That's my dad, so you better watch what you say!" I exclaimed angrily. "My apologies. It must have been rough growing up with a pinhead like him," he said. I glared and crossed my arms.

"Ernesto?" Daphne asked. I frowned even more. "You know this idiot?" I asked her but she ignored me. "Hello again, Comrade Daphne. We have missed you on the front lines in our fight to take down the man," he told her.

"Gang, you remember my radical idealist friend Ernesto from Darrow College," Daphne told us. "Must have slipped my mind," I grumbled. "Yeah! Hey, nice beret. What size is your head? I'm a 7 and 3/4, but I've got a head dimple in the back that makes it almost impossible to get a good snug fit," Fred ranted to him.

Shaggy and Scooby walked over to join us, and Shaggy put his arm around me. "So, dude, like, what brings you here besides obvious evil?" he asked.

"We are here to protect Gaia, mother earth, from despotic corporate overlords like Destroido. Go, Gaia!" he exclaimed.

"Go, Gaia!" his followers repeated. "Yeah. Well, good luck with that. Come on, you guys. Let's take advantage of Mr. Machine's generosity," Velma said, and we walked away.

We got in the van and made our way to the marina. "We can borrow my dad's boat," Daphne said, pointing to the boat Velma and I had taken Friday night. We looked at each other but didn't say anything.

As we were untying the boat, I heard Daphne say, "Huh, these guys did a better job than normal at tying the boat." To that I had to chuckle.

Soon, we were out on the water and approaching the oil platform. "I don't remember daddy's little boat being so dinged up," Daphne mentioned after looking around the boat.