The trap was finally set, and with all of their new friends offering to look after Sparky while keeping their other allies safe in their rooms, the Mane 6, Mystery Inc and Umbra were ready to catch this alien to ensure a safe, peaceful return to Earth.

But with the escalating drama between Velma and Daphne, Zipp and Pipp (who offered to stick with them in case things got out of hoof) knew they were going to have their hooves full.

And Umbra still had to worry about her sister lurking around and waiting for the right opportunity to attack. But then again, she knew that her new friends weren't going to let that happen on their watch.

Now, let's get back to the story to see what happens next, and if our heroes' trap really succeeds.

XXXXXXXX

From the main control room, Izzy levitated some hot cocoa over to Hitch and Fred, who were keeping a sharp eye on the security cameras. “Hey, guys! I thought we could all use some hot cocoa to keep ourselves toasty while we’re watching over these security cameras. Can't risk that alien slipping through our hooves again, can we?”

“Thanks, Izzy,” Fred took his mug with a grateful smile. “But while Hitch and I keep an eye out for the alien, we need you to do something important for us too.”

Izzy blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Yeah-- you're just the unicorn to do it, after all. Since Aruna is still out there somewhere, that means Umbra could get attacked again, and she might not come out of this one with just scratches and bruises,” Hitch said after setting his mug down, guiding Izzy to another chair facing a bunch of other monitors. “So, while Fred and I keep an eye out for the alien, we need you to sweep through the security footage and tell us as soon as you see Aruna, so Sunny can get her someplace safe.”

Izzy gulped nervously at this, but wanting to do something to help, nodded reluctantly to Hitch’s request. “Okay, Hitchie-Poo… if it’s for Umbra and keeping her safe from her meany-pants sister, I’ll do it.”

“And it looks like we’re just in time,” Fred said after a moment, pointing to the security monitor closest to Hitch, pointing out the alien in question. “Now we just need to call Shaggy, Scooby and their group-- they’re the closest to the alien’s location.”

XXXXXXXX

As Umbra, Misty and Sunny walked with Shaggy and Scooby, keeping a firm eye out for either Aruna or the alien, Fred spoke up through their communicators. “Shaggy, Scooby, we’ve just spotted the alien in the observation deck. You guys take your group, head up there and lure him down to Hudson's work area. The other ponies, Daphne, Velma and I will cover the rest. It's almost too easy. Any questions?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shaggy said nervously. “Can we not do this?”

“Guys, relax a little. It’s just an alien,” Hitch said, trying to sound confident. “It can't hurt you if it doesn't catch you.”

“Yes, it can,” Scooby nodded quickly, more or less out of fear. “It tried to melt our brains right before Umbra fought it off!”

“But we’ve still got each other, and that’s what really matters right now,” Sunny said gently. “Come on… the observation deck isn’t that far from here.”

They soon walked from their location to the observation deck, which had huge windows for gazing out at the stars, where they stopped and looked around for the alien, but more or less didn't see anything.

However, a chill ran up Umbra's spine, causing her ears to flatten slightly. “I don’t know about this… it seems much too quiet in here for anypony’s liking.”

“Maybe he moved into the next room,” Misty thought out loud before she pointed toward some double doors nearby. “Come on, let’s go check it out.”

But as they moved over to the double doors, a shadow loomed over them, causing the group to quickly gasp and turn around. But to their relief, it was only a Slybot walking into view, carrying a tray of sticky buns with vanilla frosting on them. “Sticky buns!”

“I figured you might have second thoughts,” Fred said over their communicators. “I thought I'd give you some added incentives.”

“Like, yeah,” Shaggy said, grabbing a sticky bun and splitting it with Misty. “Incentives with frosting!”

“Yeah, yeah. Yummy!” Scooby bit into his own sticky bun before Misty grabbed the tray with her magic. “Come on, guys, let’s dine and dash-- we still have a lot more of this floor to cover before we have to report back to the others.”

XXXXXXXX

In another corridor, Zipp and Pipp were flying above Daphne and Velma (who were plugging in some electrical cables) while the pegasus sisters tried to make sure the sting dart mechanisms were going to work.

But while they did this, Pipp kept glancing down at Velma and Daphne, who were in the middle of a stone cold silence… and Zipp immediately caught onto what her sister was feeling. “You’re worried about them too, aren’t you?”

“How can I not be? They’re always so close with each other,” Pipp frowned, “and now they’re at each other’s throats! It... kinda made me think of that one fight we had on Zephyr Heights Royal Princess Portrait Day.”

Zipp frowned deeper at Pipp mentioning that. She remembered that day far too well-- somepony (who had been revealed later on to be Misty) had sent them a picture of a rare ocean lily (created by Opaline during one of her earlier schemes) and when she and Pipp went to find them, a rockslide had trapped them in a cave while Sunny was keeping their mother busy.

Back in the collapsed cave, Zipp and Pipp struggle to break out or call for help, all while blaming each other for their current predicament. Calming down, Zipp apologizes for bringing Pipp along on this adventure under false pretenses and admits she genuinely wanted to have some fun with her like they used to. And after singing their special Portrait Day song from their childhood, the two sisters made up and managed to make it out of the cave (thanks to Glory, Seashell, Peach Fizz and some of their friends) in time to get their portrait made in Zephyr Heights.

After clearing the memory from her mind, Zipp sighed and looked at her sister. “I know that day was hard on both of us, Pipp. But… I don’t think Velma and Daphne’s problems can be fixed with a song and a selfie.”

“I know…” Pipp sighed, her ears lowering at a terrible and rather sad thought. “I just… don’t want us to ever fight like that again.”

Zipp nodded and nuzzled her sister gently to comfort her, and once they finished setting up the sting darts on one side of the room, they flew to the other side to attach the sting darts there.

However, while the sisters were out of range for now, Velma decided to break the silence and glanced at Daphne coldly. “You're probably going to tell me I'm doing this all wrong, aren't you?”

Daphne let out a scoff, not believing what she was hearing. “You can't stand that I did better than you on the astronaut training tests.”

Velma put two electrical sockets together before looking over at Daphne again. “What do I care? Those tests must be flawed.”

Daphne scoffed at this. “Because I did well?”

“No!” Velma dismissed. “Because you did better than me!”

“Ugh… I knew it!” Daphne finally snapped out of irritation. “After all this time, is it so hard for you to accept that I might be something more than a pretty face?!”

“No…” Velma said quietly before sighing sadly and turning away, unaware that the pegasus sisters were slowly landing a short distance away. “What's hard to accept is that you get to have it all. If you're prettier and more stylish and smarter and a better astronaut, what's left for me? If you're a better me than I am, then who am I?”

Daphne, in that moment, was honestly speechless, and had no idea how to comfort her best friend. “I…”

Zipp sighed and turned to her sister, feeling that this argument hit closer to home than even she realized. “See what I mean?”

“It sounds a lot like an argument we would have, wouldn’t it?” Pipp asked. “I… I wanna help, but… I don’t wanna make either of them feel like we’re choosing sides.”

But, before Zipp could answer her younger sister’s question, the lights began to flicker again, making Daphne gasp as the two sisters ran to protect Velma and Daphne, just in case.

XXXXXXXX

In the control room, the lights flickered in there too, alerting Fred, Hitch and Izzy to what might be going on, and causing Izzy to whimper a bit nervously.

XXXXXXXX

Down another corridor, more lights began to flicker, causing Umbra to freeze in her tracks. “Uh… what’s happening?”

“Huh?” Scooby whimpered and quickly glanced around while the others stopped, also a bit nervous.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Sly Baron was enjoying himself being blown by a hairdryer and lots of fans when the power suddenly went off, leaving him in the darkness. “Dang it,” Sly grumbled as he began to float off the floor. “Tripped the breakers again!”

XXXXXXXX

“WHOAAAAA!!” Pipp shrieked as she, Zipp, Velma and Daphne began to float off the floor. “We’re flying but I’m not using my wings!!”

“Something's wrong with the gravity!” Zipp realized, causing Velma to look over at her sarcastically. “You think? What makes you say that?”

XXXXXXXX

In the control room, Fred, Hitch and Izzy started to float too, and through the monitors, they could see this happening to their other friends while Sly's voice echoed out to them through the intercom system. “Hi, folks! Slight glitch with our artificial gravity. We'll have it back on shortly. Until then, enjoy the float.”

XXXXXXXX

“Like, dude, a glitch?” Shaggy asked as his and Scooby’s group continued to float in mid-air while Misty’s magic tried to keep them together. “Oh-ho-ho, boy… that doesn’t sound good.”

However, while the others were trying to keep their balance, Scooby floated over to a sticky bun and gobbled it right up, causing Sunny to laugh. “Scooby? What are you doing?”

“Enjoying the float,” Scooby answered, pushing himself off the floor to reach another sticky bun, “You can swim without getting wet.”

“Ha, ha. Hey, hey, you're right!” Shaggy realized his best friend's point, swimming to another sticky bun while Umbra ate one herself. “And you can eat without getting sticky.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the control room, while she was having fun floating around, Izzy caught sight of both the alien and Aruna together, fear filling her gut as they moved in the direction of Shaggy and Scooby’s group. “GAH!!!”

Swimming quickly, she made it to the monitor and tried to contact the others. “Team Snack Attack, come in, Team Snack Attack! Trouble heading in your direction!”

XXXXXXXX

However, while Sunny, Misty and Umbra seemed to hear this, Shaggy and Scooby seemed a bit too relaxed and didn’t realize how much trouble they were in. “Shaggy, Scooby, come on! Izzy said there was trouble heading this way,” said Misty, “so we need to go!”

“It’s all good, Misty,” Scooby said, completely relaxed as he floated around on his back. “Just relax and have a good…”

Suddenly, Scooby bumped into something, and when he turned, he saw the alien with Aruna on his back, causing him to freeze. “Huh?!”

Aruna and the alien both let out a deafening roar, causing all of them to fly backwards, screaming into the wall, where Umbra whimpered worriedly. “Aruna, what are you doing?!”

“Doing what I should have done a long time ago-- eliminating you from existence!” Aruna smiled with a venomous look. “And when my little alien friend found me, how could I refuse its help? So, we teamed up to take you ALL out!!”

Shaggy gulped nervously before looking toward Scooby. “Like, what do you say, pal? Maybe we should try some of U-Boat's singing.”

“Singing?! Now?!” Umbra looked a bit panicked, but Shaggy and Scooby went right on singing without paying her any mind… at least, not right then.

Shaggy and Scooby: F, la-Ia la la
E, la-la la la
A, la-la la la
R, spells nothing you need to…

However, the alien then chose to roar two of the sticky buns at Shaggy and Scooby's faces, cutting their singing off. Luckily, Shaggy and Scooby were able to lick it right off, but seeing that the alien and Aruna were getting more and more agitated, Misty suddenly became fearful. “I don't think the singing's working very well, Shag!”

“Give it up, you dark miscreant,” Aruna challenged her sister with her wings spread wide. “You haven’t got a chance when you’re floating off the ground.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sunny challenged. “Well, we do have one more trick up our sleeves-- RUN!!!”

Quickly, Sunny shifted into alicorn form and Umbra spread her wings before they flew off, with Misty, Shaggy and Scooby running in mid-air behind them, and the alien and Aruna in hot pursuit. However, while Aruna chose to fight Sunny and Umbra both, giving Misty, Shaggy and Scooby a chance to escape the alien, the three of them just kept bouncing off each wall and each other while the alien grabbed onto the ceiling with its claws.

It was then that Fred spoke up through their communicators again. “Don't eat the sticky buns, use them to stick!”

“Man! Like, great idea, Fred!” Shaggy said, just before he, Scooby and Misty grabbed the sticky buns and put them on the floor, using them almost like suction cups. “Yes!” Misty cheered. “It’s working!”

“Way to go, guys!” Sunny said as she used her alicorn magic to blast Aruna backwards. “Just keep it up until Aruna is off mine and Umbra’s tails!”

However, as Misty and the boys walked along the floor using the sticky buns, they saw the alien behind them, causing them to panic and run on mid air, though in one spot. The alien rises up behind them and swipe at Shaggy, Scooby and Misty, sending them tumbling into Sunny and Umbra, causing them all to scream and continue tumbling while Aruna regained her composure. “After them! We can’t let my sister and her friends get away this time!”

The alien roared in agreement, and the duo immediately flew after them down the corridor, hoping to catch them before they got out of bounds.

XXXXXXXX

“Pega-Sisters 1 and 2 and Rogue 1,” said Fred from the control booth, “this is Rogue Leader. The packages are heading your way, over.”

XXXXXXXX

Suddenly, Daphne had a thought. “Am I Rogue 1 or Rogue 2?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Velma dismissed. “We’re ready, Fred.”

“Aw, come on,” Izzy whined, having heard Velma say this regularly and not as cool as she would have. “Use your call sign, Velma! I-I mean… Rogue 2. Over.”

Suddenly, the other ponies, Umbra, Shaggy and Scooby were heard screaming, causing Pipp and Zipp to push Daphne and Velma to the other side of the hallway so the alien and Aruna wouldn't see them. At the same time, Shaggy and Scooby's group bumped into the wall and swam through the air toward their friends floating above them. They smiled at Daphne and the others, but Zipp shushed them, urging them to be quiet so they wouldn't foil the plan.

Daphne then pushed a button on a remote and smoke comes out of the vents, covering the corridor just as the alien and Aruna swam through. “Sting darts,” said Zipp, pushing a button, “away!”

The sting darts quickly fired from the walls on both sides of the corridor, but Aruna was able to use her sun magic to burn her and the alien a path through the fog, allowing them to successfully get through. Ha! Nice try, pega-whimps!” Aruna taunted before she flew off after the alien, having seen them before the smoke filled the corridor. As for the girls, Pipp groaned in frustration when their part of the trap failed. “I can’t believe we missed!”

“No problem,” Hitch assured confidently. “We just need to wait for the right moment, and Fred, Izzy and I will take care of the rest.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Umbra led her friends down into Hudson’s work area, where they stopped just above a big red X that Izzy painted on the ground. “Okay, we’re here,” said Sunny, “but now what?”

“Look!” Misty yelped in panic as she, Scooby and Shaggy quickly turned to see the alien and Aruna coming in their direction. “They’re right behind us!”

However, as Aruna and the alien made it through the doors of the work area, the vents above it sprayed green smoke all over it and when it cleared, they got covered in green gooey gel. “UGH!!!” Aruna groaned in disgust. “What is this disgusting condiment?!”

XXXXXXXX

Izzy laughed triumphantly at this. “Gotcha!”

“Gravity gel!” Fred smirked and bumped Hitch's hoof with his fist. “That should hold them! Well... at least for a little while.”

But just then, Shaggy, Scooby and Misty, along with Aruna and the alien, fell toward the floor with a yelp while Sunny and Umbra used their wings to stay up in mid-air. “Huh?” Hitch looked at the monitor and instantly seemed confused. “Where did they…?”

“YIKES!!!” all three of them cried out when they suddenly dropped to the floor in one large heap.

XXXXXXXX

“Guys!” Sunny exclaimed as she and Umbra landed to check on their friends. “Are you okay?”

“Ugh… yeah, I think so,” Shaggy nodded. “And on the plus side,” Misty added on, shaking off the dizziness, “I think the gravity’s fixed.”

“Ugh… but now my head's broken!” Scooby said just before a sticky bun fell on his head. “It’s okay now, guys,” Umbra reassured. “They’re stuck in the gel now, and it’s not like they’re going to be able to-- AGH!!!”

The others let out a horrified gasp as Aruna, still covered in the gravity gel, pounced on Umbra, and the two of them rolled across the floor until Aruna pinned Umbra down by the neck. “UMBRA!!!”

“Oh, you think you can win so easily?” Aruna asked her sister as she began to struggle to breathe. “Think again, dear sister. I’ve always been better than you, and I will ALWAYS outshine you. And I’m going to prove that to you RIGHT NOW!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

And while Aruna was getting ready to kill Umbra, the alien grabbed Scooby in its massive paws and roared in the poor Great Dane's face, scaring poor Scooby out of his wits.

But little did Aruna and the alien know that the others were at least two steps ahead of their wicked plans.

Hitch pounced onto Aruna, knocking her off of Umbra before Pipp and Zipp used thick vines to tie Aruna into place.

As for the alien, Izzy had tossed Fred some of the oxygen infused with liquid nitrogen, freezing it instantly and the alien fell over to the ground as a result, making the ice around it crack, and allowing Misty to help Scooby out of its claws. “Yes!” Sunny cheered. “We’ve got them!”

Aruna growled in anger at this. “No! How?!”

“Easy,” Misty said with a glare. “It’s called working together as a team. Something you wouldn't know much about.”

Suddenly, one of the elevator doors opened, revealing Tidal Wave, Starshine Tide, Elvin and Steelcase, with the two hippogriffs gasping in surprise while Elvin and Steelcase spoke up.

“The alien!”

“You caught the alien!”

“Yes,” Velma nodded with a smile, “we...”

“The alien!” U-Boat exclaimed as he and Cloudy came from another elevator nearby. “You caught the alien!”

“Uh, yeah,” Zipp nodded slowly, “we...”

Then, Morpho, Hudson, Cassiopeia and Ridley emerged from another elevator, looking just as stunned. “The alien!” they cried. “You caught the alien!”

Okay, now Velma was starting to get annoyed. “Yes...”

Then, another elevator opened to reveal H.A.M, Clark Sparkman and Shutter Snap. “The alien,” H.A.M said robotically. “You caught the alien.”

“Yes!” Velma managed to say right when Sly arrived in the final elevator. “Does anyone have a spare hair dryer? I seem to...” he began to say right before he saw the alien and Aruna surrounded by the gang and their friends. “The alien. You caught the alien!”

“Yes! We caught it!” Zipp was finally able to say before groaning out of frustration. “Sweet Celestia... how many elevators are in this building?”

“And what am I to all of you?” Aruna snarled at the others. “Chopped liver? No! I will not be treated like--”

“I don’t believe it...” Cassiopeia said with awe in her voice as the others approached. “It is real!”

However, Zipp spared a suspicious glance at Velma, since both of them had a good idea who was behind all this. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Working together, Zipp and Velma pulled off the alien’s head and tossed it aside, revealing it to be all mechanical and a figure crawled out of it to reveal themselves to be...

“SHANNON LUCAS?!”

Aruna scoffed as Shannon just glared at them. “Took you idiotic mortals long enough.”

However, U-Boat was still majorly confused. “But how?”

“Why?” Umbra also questioned. “Who?” Fred asked again, only for everyone to stare at him, baffled. “Oh, right. It's Shannon.”

“That's right, it was Shannon,” Velma confirmed with a smile. “Being an astronaut made her the perfect alien... with a little help from Aruna.”

Fred nodded slowly, now piecing some of these things together. “She knew how to adjust the frequency of a micro-radar transmitter to turn it into a devastating sonic weapon.”

“So that explains the alien’s mind beams!” Izzy gasped in realization, causing Shaggy to nod. “She used Sly's magnaboots to defy gravity!”

“And,” Sunny added, “when it wasn’t Shannon in the alien suit, it was Aruna, since a lot of the movements it made resembled that of a standard jaguar.”

“And,” Velma added, “she knew how to use holograms, videos and audio recordings to mask her whereabouts at any moment.”

“And they both knew the ship and the resort so they could come and go at will!” Pipp realized, causing Zipp to nod, her eyes narrowing at Shannon slightly. “But even though she had an ally in Aruna, this was a plan years in the making by a highly trained expert.”

“Yes. An expert. Someone who has sacrificed everything to get here,” Shannon said, walking around the group, who glared at her in anger. “Not some regular nobody that Sly had decided could simply go to space because it was easy and safe for everyone, anyone. I decided to change that. The original plan was to sabotage the ship, stage an alien attack and make the world see that space travel is dangerous and only a place for experts.”

Daphne slowly nodded, realizing where Shannon was coming from. “And you had the perfect guests to help you with your plan,” she said before gesturing to Elvin and Steelcase, leaving Starshine and Tidal out of it. “Two veteran astronauts to make the trip seem credible.”

“And,” Shaggy added, “you had U-Boat, a super-star athlete that would ensure the whole world was watching.”

“And Ridley,” Fred added. “The one person you knew would confirm to the world that aliens were real.”

“Don’t forget Clark,” Velma said, turning to the news anchor. “Celebrity Heat would give you all the exposure you could ever need by ignoring the actual facts, to get you a sensational story. Sorry, Clark.”

However, Clark smiled and shrugged at her innocently. “It’s a living.”

“Wow. I have to admit,” said Sunny, “the two of you had this all figured out.”

“Except I didn't count on the greatest mystery team or all your little magic friends being onboard,” Shannon glared at the gang, the Mane 6 and all their new friends. “That was just plain old luck. Bad luck. I knew you snooping would ruin my plans. I even tried to convince you not to go.”

XXXXXXXX

“Well, Daphne, your hair is so great, I'd consider not going.”

XXXXXXXX

Pipp gasped in shock to this. “That wasn’t a compliment?! Oh, how dare you…”

“Then,” Aruna said with a smirk, “I switched your scores, hoping it would break up your happy team. And I guess it did for a while.”

Daphne paused and put her hands on her hips at this. “Wait. So I didn't get the highest scare?”

“Psh, no, Daphne,” Aruna said with a scoff. “Shaggy did.”

“SHAGGY?!” everyone cried in shock, and even Shaggy seemed surprised. “Like, dude, me? Ha, ha!”

“Way to go, Shaggers!” Izzy giggled happily, hugging Shaggy with one of her free hooves. “I knew you had it in you! Well… for a few seconds, anyway.”

“...anyway,” Shannon rolled her eyes, “I had to prevent you from figuring out my plan, so I came up with a different one. A plan that meant leaving you here and helping Aruna with her plan as well.”

“So that way,” Starshine realized, “we would never be able to return to tell the real story.”

“So it was you who sabotaged the satellite!” Cassiopeia realized, causing Morpho to growl in anger. “Boy,” Fred spoke up. “Everything that happened was perfectly calculated.”

“And,” said Elvin, “expertly executed.”

It was then that Sly stepped forward with a rather confident look on his face. “And you would've gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for me.”

“You?” Misty looked confused. “Don’t you mean all of us, Sly?”

“Oh, right,” Sly took back what he said before facing Shannon again. “I meant, and you would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for me and these meddling kids.”

However, Shannon chuckled darkly at this. “Would have? Oh, we’re still getting away with it. Aren’t we, Aruna?”

Aruna then used her sun powers to evaporate the vines holding her before knocking Izzy and Misty, who were the closest to her, away. “I couldn’t agree more, Shannon. You see, while you ponies and your stupid little friends were trying to solve the mystery, I’ve been communicating with someone I think you should meet in person!”

And with that, Aruna slammed her magic mirror on the ground, resulting in a mysterious portal opening up that caused the Mane 6 to take the lead, wanting to keep their friends out of harms way for as long as they could.

But... they weren't expecting who came out of the portal in question.

That's right-- Alterro emerged from that portal with a victorious smirk planted on his muzzle. “Hello… ponies.”

“Alterro?!” Zipp looked shocked and furious all at once. “Aruna, how can you work for Alterro?! He’s way too dangerous and he’s super manipulative!”

“Exactly why I chose Aruna to be under my wing, teaching her everything that I know,” Alterro smirked. “She and this little trap that was set up was the perfect way to get rid of you and your pesky little friends all in one fell swoop!”

Scooby bared his teeth into a snarl at the mention of finishing off the Equestrians, but Shaggy, not wanting Scooby to get hurt, kept him back when Scooby tried to lunge. “But you still failed, Alterro,” Sunny said. “Shannon and Aruna were caught, and in revealing yourself, you let your own plan slip too! It’s not too late to make things right… for your sister’s sake.”

“That… traitor is NOT my sister!” Alterro snapped before quickly regaining her composure. “You six ponies are the guardians of Equestria now that Twilight Sparkle and her little minions are gone. Which means everything the light touches belongs to me. There will be one ruler… one… leopard… king.”

And as Alterro strutted closer to the group, his fiery magic went into work, making wild cats of pure fire to ensure that no one got away while he did the unthinkable-- he started to sing.

Alterro: You say that you're heroes
But you lie around in the shade
Out of shape, unafraid

Pipp gasped, appalled by this as the fiery cats got closer. “Rude!”

Alterro: The moon cuts a path through the sky
By night or by day, it doesn't obey
And neither do I

My sister betrayed me, and for what you've done
I hope you can run...

And as the wild cats made of fire began to close in even more, the Mane 6 and even the other young magical creatures stood up for themselves to keep the fiery cats away from their friends... even if these fiery beings were a bit intimidating.

Alterro: Cause I'm gonna be
The last thing you see
Before you go bye bye
There you go, bye bye

Climb every tree across land and sea
I make you go, bye bye
I make you go, bye bye

Everything in my clutches
Bye bye
Everything the light touches

And to make matters worse, Aruna also began to stalk around the frightened group while Shanno looked on, and Aruna kept her eyes on Umbra, who trembled behind Scooby at the confrontation.

Aruna: The Circle of Life is a lie
A pretty way to say
There are predators and prey

Alterro: That circle of vultures up high
They keep stealing glances
They don't like your chances
And neither do I

I run my pride
I hope you can hide...

“Everyone, scatter!” Zipp cried out, thinking of a last minute way to try and keep herself and her friends safe, and as everyone tried to split up in different directions, Alterro made sure they didn’t make their way out of the work area, thanks to Aruna, Shannon and his fiery minions.

Alterro: Cause I'm gonna be
The last thing you see
Before you go bye bye
There you go, bye bye

Climb every tree across land and sea
I make you go, bye bye
I make you go, bye bye

Soon enough, the group was rounded up and cornered again, and Alterro leapt down from his perch on some food crates, and looked dead into Sunny’s eyes, making her tense up in fright.

Alterro: Bye bye
For vengeance is mine
If I'm the last of my line
I must be strong

Aruna and Fire Cats: Like a dream that just doesn't
Let up, let up
And you scream 'cause you cannot
Get up, get up

Alterro: Bye bye

Alterro, Aruna and Fire Cats: Bye bye

Alterro: I make you go

Alterro, Aruna and Fire Cats: Bye bye

Aruna and Fire Cats: So long…

Alterro: Bye bye

And by the time the song was over, the fire cats disappeared into thin air before an aura of magic pulled Sparky out of Hitch's hooves and into Alterro's paws, causing Sparky to shriek in terror. “PAPA!!”

“Sparky!” Hitch gasped, trying to reach out for his son, but to no avail. “Hang in there, bud!”

“I’ll give you one chance to save your little dragon,” Alterro said, murderously glancing at the baby dragon in question. “Give me the map piece to Skyros that is here on the moon, or… I drain this little lizard of EVERY OUNCE of his magic, which will transfer automatically to me.”

Izzy gasped in terror at this. “You can’t do that to Spark-Spark!”

“Besides, we don’t know where the map is!” Daphne argued. “And even if we did know where it is, we…”

“No,” Umbra said quietly before reaching under one of her wings (which unfurled when Alterro showed up) and pulling out a piece of paper. “I have it. I’ve kept it safe for all these years, not knowing what it was.”

“Umbra, no!” Velma cried. “What are you doing?!”

“Don’t worry,” Umbra whispered back. “I have a plan.”

With that, Umbra walked forward and gave the map piece to Alterro, who spared a glance at Aruna with pride. “Your sister might actually be good for something after all, Aruna. And I am a leopard of my word, so…”

With that, he dropped Sparky onto the ground, causing him to run to Umbra for safety. “It’s all right, little one. You’re safe now.”

“All right, you have what you want,” Zipp said dangerously. “Now, we’re getting out of here.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Aruna said as she and Alterro backed up until they were right beside Shannon. “Now, Shannon!”

With that, Shannon pushed a button on a black remote and a glass wall comes down beneath her, the rest of the villains and the heroes.

Fred approached the wall, his helmet making it a bit hard to see the glass in front of him. “It's some sort of invisible force field.”

“Uh, it’s called glass, Freddy,” Morpho said with an eye roll. “An invisible force field made out of glass!” Fred exclaimed. “Genius.”

“Ugh…!!” Pipp groaned out of irritation. “He cannot be serious right now.”

“You're just gonna leave me here?” Sly asked in disbelief. “And us!” Hudson told his brother. “Oh, right,” Sly nodded before turning back to Shannon. “You're just going to leave me here with these people?”

“Oh, yeah,” Shannon nodded before pulling out a small black device. “And just to be certain you never leave, I've planted thermal charges like this one throughout the complex.”

“Oh, brother…” Tidal groaned. “How many can there be?”

“So that's what that alien was doing when Scoob, the girls and I went outside for the drive!” Shaggy realized. “The glass is also indestructible to magic, so your little defenses won’t work on it. And thanks to Alterro’s magic,” Aruna smirked, “they’ll be set to go off in exactly ONE hour, so you don’t have very long to live.”

“Shannon. Name your price. Anything,” Sly said to the red head calmly. “A weekend in Paris with me? A signed portrait of me?”

With that, he snapped his fingers and H.A.M lifted the painting he did of Sly earlier... only for everyone to react with disgust. “You can't put a price on this sort of fame. Besides, returning as a hero will bring me all the money Aruna and I could ever want.”

“Please don't hate us. Especially you, Daphne,” Aruna said with a sadistic glare and an even more sadistic smile. “Great hair, by the way. Heh heh heh heh heh...”

“I'll head out and make sure the charges are set to blow and I'll join you in just a short while,” Alterro said to the other villains as Aruna made him a bubble of air so he could breathe in space. “Good luck, girls.”

“Of course, master,” Aruna said with a pleased smile as she created a bubble of air for herself. “Of course.”

Shannon activated her helmet, put a thermal charger on the wall, waved goodbye quickly and ran off to the Sly Star One with Aruna behind her while Alterro flew off in a different direction to check the charges.

Then, much to our heroes' dismay, they watched the Sly Star One take off toward Earth, surely leaving them on the base to die a painful, fiery death.

Author's Note

The song "Bye Bye" comes from the new Lion King movie, and while I still haven't seen the whole thing, I have seen a clip of it online where Kiros is singing this song, and it fits PERFECTLY with Alterro's character.