"The Gotham Grouchfest" - Part Three

Part Three

            Just when Erica thought the evening of weirdness was over, she and Gordon were called in to investigate an incident at a subway station downtown. Mr. Cho, a meek accountant who took the train home for the first time in a while, was nearly the victim of a hate crime. That was until he was saved by a man dressed as a bat.

            “Same description as the nut over at the docks where we found those other nuts,” Erica indicated. “Who is this guy, Jim? And why is he making this such a busy night for us?”

            Gordon shrugged. “Ya got me, detective.”

            Erica could see how exhausted he was. “You want me to take lead on this one?”

            “If you can find a lead, that is,” Gordon disputed.

            “Oh, I think I know a good place to start,” Erica perceptively smirked.

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            Alan couldn’t take his mind off of that detective, Erica Harvey, even as he got himself ready for bed. Bruce Wayne allowed them all to stay for the night at his fancy mansion, until they could work out a plan for getting back to the Type-Z TARDIS from the docks. They were forced to leave it there after they were arrested. Although Alan would not have minded staying a little longer – long enough to get Detective Harvey’s number.

            And do what with it, genius? Call her from another dimension?

            He mentally slapped himself for such a stupid notion.

            Getting over the whole thing, he headed to the bedroom he had chosen to sleep in for the night. Just as he was about to enter, he bumped into Sonia. She was still wearing Candace’s white button-up shirt, slumped over her bare shoulders.

            “What are you doin’?” he asked her.

            “And what do you mean? We’ve always slept in the same room together. Don’t you remember?” Sonia recollected.

            “We haven’t shared a room since I was ten!” Alan negated.

            Sonia frowned with confusion. “Really?” She rubbed the side of her head. “Man…I must still be suffering the after-effects of post-regeneration. Your grandpa said that would happen.” Embarrassed, she told her son, “I’m so sorry, sweetie. W-We can still share the room for old time’s sake.”

            “Alright, time out!” Alan requested, making the corresponding gesture for a time-out. “This ain’t gonna work.”

            “What’s not gonna work?” Sonia questioned.

            “All of…this!” He motioned around Sonia’s general vicinity. “You gonna have to find somewhere else to sleep.”

            “All the other bedrooms are taken. The only other place is the sofa.”

            “Then that’s where you gonna have to sleep.”

            Sonia was deeply hurt by his attitude, which was the same one he expressed towards her back at the police station. “What is going on with you, Alan? I’m your mother!”

            “Are you?” Alan refuted. “This Asian chick in front of me? I don’t know her, alright? She’s a total stranger to me!”

            Distraught, Sonia stiffened. “I see,” she stoically acknowledged, walking away. “Goodnight, Mr. Harris.”

            The icy manner of her voice chilled Alan, especially from the way she addressed him as “Mr. Harris.” No longer did he detect that warm, motherly tone she had up until then. Now it sounded like a completely different woman altogether.

            And he wasn’t sure if he liked it any more than before.

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            The next morning at Wayne Manor, Skeeta woke up bright and early to have breakfast with Bruce Wayne, the kids of Mystery Inc., and the Sesame Street friends. Alfred happily served all of them as they sat together at the dining table. “I do believe this is the most people we’ve had in one sitting for quite a long time,” he reflected.

            “So, Elmo,” Daphne addressed, “you must be very happy to be going back home with your friends.”

            “Elmo’s never been more excited in Elmo’s whole life, Miss Daphne!” Elmo delightfully admitted. “You and the rest of Mystery Inc. must be excited to go back to your home, too!”

            “We are, Elmo,” Fred said. “But, first, we still have a mystery to solve here in Gotham.”

            “No…no, you don’t,” Skeeta denied after taking a sip of his coffee. “What goes on in this world is not your problem, you understand?”

            “Besides, it’s well taken care of,” Bruce assured.

            “By whom?” Velma questioned. “The police?”

            Before Wayne could say, Alan had arrived. “Mornin’, ya’ll,” he chipperly saluted, specifically noticing the leaning towers of pancakes Scooby and Shaggy had sitting in front of them. “Hope ya’ll at least saved me some eggs and bacon.”

            “There are still four…four servings of eggs and bacon left,” the Count counted.

            Alan chuckled. “It’s so freaky hearin’ that up close.” As he sat down and was served his food by Alfred, he looked around the dining table and noticed one particular person wasn’t there. “Where’s Sonia at?”

            “I saw her up earlier,” Skeeta replied. “She seemed pretty upset. Do you know why, Alan?”

            “I think I have a pretty good idea,” Alan sighed.

            “Like, whoa!” Shaggy exclaimed, his mouth full of pancake, looking away from the table. Everyone followed his gaze to see Sonia, who had arrived in much different attire. Rather than Candace’s white shirt and cutoff denim shorts, she was adorned in an alluring black dress.

            “Morning, everyone,” she kindly greeted to the majority of those in the room. However, when she looked Alan’s way, she coldly added, “And you, Mr. Harris.”

            Alan sunk in his chair, feeling rather small – which said a lot with him being the tallest one in the room.

            “I thought up a plan overnight for getting to my TARDIS,” Sonia alerted. “Assuming the police are still sweeping over the docks, the perception filter should keep their attention off of it.”

            “So, all we have to do is maintain a low profile,” Skeeta surmised.

            “Correct,” Sonia verified.

            “That doesn’t exactly sound easy with three adults, three Muppets, four meddling kids, and their dog,” Velma noted. “At least not in broad daylight. Better to wait until nightfall and then make our way back to your ship.”

            “Smart idea, Velma,” Skeeta approved.

            “Alfred will drop you all off there,” Bruce offered. “I’ll have some business to attend to, so I won’t be able to see you all off.”

            “You’ve been a kind host, Mr. Wayne,” Daphne said. “Thank you so much.”

            “Elmo can’t wait to ride in that fancy car again,” Elmo beamed.

            “I believe the super stretch limo will suffice for our next trip, Master Elmo,” Alfred suggested just as the doorbell rang. He went to answer it and discovered Detective Harvey standing at the doorstep. “Good morning, detective. How may I be of assistance?”

            “I’m just here for some follow-up questions to my investigation,” Erica said. “May I come in?”

            Alfred hesitated. He looked towards the dining room, seeing Alan excitedly rush out as soon as he heard the beautiful detective’s voice. “Hey,” he told her.

            “Hey yourself,” Erica smugly remarked. “I’m surprised to see you here. What sort of connection do you have with Bruce Wayne to be invited to stay at his big fancy mansion, kid?”

            “Did I hear my name mentioned?” Bruce himself walked in from the dining room.

            “I was just curious to know why a billionaire would be so interested in bailing a bunch of random strangers and having them over to stay at his place?” the detective inquired.

            “I have a thing for strays,” Bruce told her.

            Detective Harvey wasn’t too convinced of that. “Mind if I have a look around your place, Mr. Wayne?”

            “Not unless you have a search warrant.”

            Immediately, Erica presented one, handing it over to Wayne.

            She proceeded through the manor afterwards, heading straight into the dining room. There, she found the other unusual suspects from the docks, sitting at the table along with what she initially perceived to be dolls…until one of them – a furry red monster of some kind – turned and waved to her. “Hello, Miss Detective Lady,” it said.

            Erica stood for a moment, receiving the shock of her life, and then fainted.