#starchild flirts with daphne

[neveragainfools]

It's important to me that you know in the Scooby Doo straight-to-video-verse Kiss, the rock band full of men in their 60s, are canonically magical girls with powers and transformations and everything. And a huge b-plot is that Daphne, who is at youngest 16 and at oldest in her 20s (unspecified), has a huge crush on Paul Stanley/Starchild, who would be 63 at the time. They both openly flirt, pissing off Fred. It's also revealed that Fred's favourite band is a barbershop group called the Ascot Five. They also spend a lot of time making fun of how branding oriented the band is. 10/10 the most unhinged scooby doo story ever

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Black Dahlia (Chapter 3)

*appears in a puff of smoke* Greetings, beautiful life forms! I am in a pretty good mood right now, so it is with great joy that I post Chapter 3! Read on and enjoy!

Their costumes had changed, obviously. But the faces were still the same; they were KISS.

There was a moment of silence. Heather felt a wave of nostalgia rush through her at the sight of the four musicians. Then Chip rushed over with a broom and began to sweep up the confetti. “Come on, guys, these special effects cost money. I told you, you can’t use them every time you make an entrance.”

Demon stuck his tongue out rather immaturely at him as he left. Daphne immediately ran over and threw her arms around Starchild, swinging her legs excitedly. Starchild looked surprised, but seemed to definitely not mind.

“Like wow!” Shaggy exclaimed. “It’s KISS!”

“In person!” Scooby said, tail wagging.

“And in the flesh,” Daphne said dreamily.

Fred frowned. “’In the flesh’ is the same as ‘in person.’ Basically, you have said the same thing twice.”

Heather rolled her eyes while smiling at Fred. “C’mon, Freddy, don’t be such a square.”

“I’m not being a square!”

“You kind of are, sweetie,” 

At her voice, KISS immediately looked in her direction. Starchild’s eyes widened. “Heather?”

Heather turned and smiled at them, trying not to let on how nervous she was. “Hey, Starchild,”

Ignoring the stunned looks of the gang, Heather strode over and appraised Starchild’s outfit. “You get taller, or is it just the boots?”

There was silence. Heather watched for their reaction nervously. Had she come on too strong?

Then Starchild’s stunned look turned into one of joy. “Heather!”

He threw his arms around her and lifted her up, swinging her around. Heather laughed and hugged him back. When he set her down, Catman and Spaceman hugged her themselves.

“It’s so great to see you, Heather!” Spaceman exclaimed.

Heather laughed. “Great to see you guys, too!”

“How long’s it been?” Catman asked.

Heather went to reply, but it was Demon who answered. “Twenty-seven years.”

Heather turned to Demon. His arms were crossed, and he was giving her an intimidating stare that lesser people would have cowered under. But Heather just smirked at him. “Good to see you too, Demon,”

Demon smirked back at her.

“So that’s how you know so much about KISS!” Daphne exclaimed, making the five of them turn to her. “You know them!”

“Know us?” Starchild put an arm around her proudly. “She’s played with us!”

“What?” the gang exclaimed in shock.

Heather laughed modestly. “It’s a long story,”

“So what’re ya doin’ here, Heather?” Catman asked.

Heather gestured to the Scooby gang. “They can explain it better than I can,”

Starchild looked over at Daphne and flashed her a smile. “How can we help, little lady?”

Daphne looked… well, like how any fan would if their idol said that to them. Velma, noticing, stepped forward. “Actually, we’re here to help you. We’re mystery solvers.”

Spaceman smiled. “That’s funny. So are we!”

“Wait, you’re the ones they called for help?” Velma asked in surprise.

“Yeah!” Demon crowed proudly. “They wanted the best, they got the best!”

Shaggy looked confused. “But, like, you’re a rock band.”

“Every band needs a hobby,” Catman replied.

“The Ascot Five would welcome our help,” Fred insisted.

Heather face-palmed and shook her head. “Fred…”  

Demon got in Fred’s face, sneering. “Well, I guess we’re no Ascot Five. So scram.” He began to laugh, and was joined by Catman and Spaceman. Starchild had gone quiet, staring pensively at the gang.

Fred glared indignantly at Demon. “Yeah? Well, amusement park mysteries happen to be our specialty. We solved the ‘Foul Play in Funland��� case, stopped the Roller Ghoster in his tracks, and captured the monster of Our Lady of Mercy’s parking lot!... I guess that was more of a street fair.”

Out the corner of her eye, Heather noticed Starchild beginning to walk in a circle around the kids, staring with narrowed, curious eyes at them.

“That’s cute,” Spaceman meanwhile said to Fred, “but we solve mysteries on a cosmic level.”

“What does that mean?” Velma asked, in a voice that suggested she didn’t really want to know the answer.

Demon glared at the kids. “It means… we don’t need your help!”

Starchild grabbed Demon’s shoulder and pulled him back, then pulled Spaceman and Catman into a huddle. “Now hold on, guys,” Heather heard him say. “Let’s not be hasty.”

Heather walked back over to the gang while the band had their group huddle. Fred pushed her shoulder. “How come you never told us you played with these guys?” he asked.

Heather shrugged. “You never asked. Besides, it was only for like, a hot second.”

“Maybe,” Velma said skeptically, “but that doesn’t change the fact that you played with them! When was this?”

“Oh, the early 80s. Like, 1981-1982, I’d say.”

Shaggy pressed a hand to his forehead in awe. “Like, wow! Fred, you officially have the coolest aunt ever!”

“Reah!” Scooby agreed enthusiastically.

Starchild came over to them, the group huddle presumably finished. “On second thought, we’ve decided you can help,” he said to them. He grinned at Heather. “On one condition.”

Heather sighed and crossed her arms. “I get the feeling I’m not gonna like it,”

“We’ll let you help… if you play with us during the concert tonight.”

Heather gazed dumbly at him. “I—what?”

“C’mon, Heather!” Catman pleaded. “It’s been years!”

“It’ll be fun!” Spaceman agreed.

Heather looked at their eager faces, and Demon’s largely indifferent face, and sighed again. A smile made its way onto her face. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Starchild grinned happily and gave her a one-armed hug. “Alright, atta girl!”

Heather smiled, rolling her eyes, and looked at the gang. “Well, guys, looks like we’re helping.”

Daphne smiled delightedly. “That’s great! I guess the first question is, who is this witch everyone’s talking about?”

-KISSTERIA-

Manny brought them into the security building of the park to show them security footage of earlier that night. Delilah went with them, looking as though she had swallowed a lemon.

Heather crossed her arms, nervously fiddling with a strand of hair. She was hoping and praying to the gods it wouldn’t really be her…

Manny keyed up the security footage. On the screens were people running and screaming, while red mist was rolling around. And then she appeared: the Crimson Witch.

She looked exactly the same as the last time Heather had seen her; enshrouded in red smoke and eyes glowing from her helmet. She flew around, causing destruction, all the while screaming the same thing. “GIVE ME ROCK!”

Shaggy and Scooby cried out in fear and dove into a locker.

Demon watched them. “Obviously, you’ve done this before,” he deadpanned.

Delilah marched over and wrenched open the locker door, glaring angrily at them. “Get out of my locker!” she snapped.

“But it’s so cozy…” Shaggy protested meekly.

On one screen, the Crimson Witch flew over to a display case with a guitar inside. “GIVE ME ROCK!” She smashed the glass, then took up the guitar and brought it down on the ground.

Heather flinched as the guitar was smashed, eyes shutting. Daphne looked over at her. “You all right, Heather?”

Heather let out a breath, and smiled at Daphne. “Yeah, just… what a waste of a perfectly good guitar.”

Unbeknownst to her, Starchild and Demon overheard, and glanced at each other.

“It’s like she’s searching for something,” Fred observed as he watched the Crimson Witch on the screens.

“And I’m going to guess that something is a rock,” Velma agreed. She turned to Starchild. “Do you think you could show us around the park? I’d like to see some of the places where the witch has been.”

“No problem,” Starchild turned to the others. “Right, fellas?”

“Count me out,” Demon said, heading for the door. “The Demon needs to feed the beast.”

Shaggy and Scooby’s eyes widened in fear. “Did he say, huh huh, ‘beast’?” Shaggy asked fearfully.

“Don’t worry, Shag,” Heather reassured him. “He means his stomach.”

“Oh,” Shaggy laughed. “Haha, then my beast is growling, too. How about yours, bud?”

Scooby looked down at his stomach, and all of them heard a loud growl. Scooby looked up and laughed. “My beast is starving!”

Shaggy and Scooby left for the door. “Like, catch ya later,” Shaggy bade goodbye. “It’s beast-feeding time!”

“Okay,” Heather said to them. “Just be careful, all right?”

Shaggy gave her a two-finger salute.

Once they had left, Daphne cozied on up to Starchild. “I’m ready for that tour now,” she said flirtatiously.

Fred was quick to make a reply before Starchild could. “If by ‘tour’ you mean ‘begin the investigation.’”

Starchild seemed to not notice Fred’s obvious jealousy—or if he did, he ignored it—and pumped his fist in the air. “Let’s hit it, fellow mystery solvers!”

[tubapun]

Just finished Scooby-Doo and Kiss! Rock and Roll Mystery and can't help but think that this would be such a solid movie if not for the stupid jealousy plot line with Fred and Daphne again. Both characters act so frustratingly the whole time and in ways which could easily be changed to make it make sense for them (have Fred be oblivious instead of weirdly rude and angry, have Daphne be just a fan of Kiss in general instead of one guy, maybe even go into the Be Cool characterization and have her in Kiss makeup the whole time!!)

And of course even more frustratingly, the whole jealousy plotline is made even worse by having Starchild aka, the at the time of production 63 YEAR OLD PAUL STANLEY reciprocate the crush of the 16 year old Daphne while still actively referring to her as "kid". Even if you wanna have daphne crush on him, make him uncomfortable with that instead of whatever that shit is!! Stop it!! Stop having grown ass men try and flirt with these characters if you insist on keeping them as vague teenagers!! Agh!!

[thespotlightss]

like?? so what if daphne herself had a crush on starchild and was flirting with him. he could have gently shut her down. would she have been upset for a bit? sure, then they could have at least continued on with the fred being jealous of daphne’s fixation on starchild storyline. but there was a TON of other stuff going on in that movie that there was really no need for it. and in scoobynatural daphne was clearly not interested in dean at all, and yet he kept persisting. read the room man.

the scooby doo kiss crossover and the supernatural crossover would have been cute if they didn’t have grown men actively flirting with and preying on a girl who’s frequently canonly depicted as no older than 16/17

[princesscas]

ugh i hate that im so bitter, it could be fun crossover but seeing news like "dean will flirt with daphne" makes me roll my eyes so hard, like uh.. yeah good to know 😒

Honestly at this point w/spn, its not surprising to me, i’m like...yep, that’s spn. *pretends to be shocked*

Kinda random but semi-relevant: I recently watched a newer Scooby Doo movie (Scooby Doo and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery) and one of the characters Starchild (aka Paul) flirts with Daphne like..even the official scooby doo writers did something similar o_O (now considering we’re assuming these characters of Kiss, are around the same ages of the scooby gang in that universe. which makes me wonder what spn will be like? will sam, dean and cas be the same ages as the gang or not?) 

but that’s just my 2 cents

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Pretty

Yeeeeah, so my mind’s been going off about this random idea: what if Starchild was flirting with Velma during Scooby Doo and KISS instead of flirting with Daphne? Velma needs more love dang it. So naturally my dumb romantic self thought of this little thing. There might be more depending on what my mind thinks of. For now, enjoy this!

AU: When the gang and KISS split up Starchild goes with Velma instead of Daphne and Fred.

“I’m still suspicious,” Velma stated as they left the building. Was Starchild a little shaken? Maybe. But most of what Chikara had foretold to them were things they had faced before. He was a bit amused by Velma’s stubborn need to be skeptical.

“Chikara’s never wrong,” he responded. “Well, except the time she predicted the Love Gun album would go gold.” Dramatic pause. “Because it went PLATINUM!” He pumped his fists, grinning. “Whoa yeah!”

He waited for Velma’s response. It was only a roll of her eyes and “Good for you.” Then she walked off. “C’mon, let’s head back and make sure Shaggy and Scooby aren’t getting in any trouble.”

Starchild tilted his head a bit, then hurried to catch up with her.

What an interesting human Miss Velma Dinkley was. Her friend, Daphne, had wasted no time in literally hanging all over him ever since they first made their amazing dramatic entrance. But Velma had simply rolled her eyes in fond exasperation at her friend and given him no attention, save a polite greeting. She was shorter than Daphne—well, with his boots she was nearly a head shorter than him—and didn’t seem to care too much about her appearance. She was smart, able to put things together, and yet refused to believe everything she was being told was true. She also didn’t smile a lot.

Not that Starchild thought she would look prettier with a smile. She looked pretty already. He just wondered why she didn’t smile.

“It is a pretty big accomplishment,” Starchild informed her. “One million albums.” He still felt proud of that.

“I know,” Velma replied. “I know how albums are ranked. Gold for five hundred thousand copies, platinum for one million copies, multi-platinum for over two million, and diamond for ten million.”

Starchild blinked. “Huh.” He smiled at her. “You’re pretty smart.”

Velma shrugged. “I just retain useless facts. That’s not smart.”

“No, I said you’re pretty smart.” He grinned at her. “Pretty and smart.”

Velma’s shocked look was almost comical. Starchild kept grinning at her, waiting for her response. “… I mean I would say I’m smart… I wouldn’t know about pretty.”

Starchild’s grin almost dropped completely from his face in confusion. That usually worked. “Why not? You’re pretty.” He stated it like it was a scientific fact.

“Compared to Daphne? No, I’m not pretty.” Velma started walking again.

Starchild followed her. “Why don’t you think you’re pretty? You are.” He meant the words; her turtleneck with her short cropped hair and her glasses all came together in a look that was perfectly fitting for her.

Velma rolled her eyes again. “Right. Nice try.”

“Do you really not think you’re pretty?”

“If I really was pretty, I would get attention from guys who don’t turn out to be the culprits behind the mystery we’re trying to solve!” Velma suddenly snapped. Starchild stopped and blinked again at her, and her shoulders slumped and she sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just… every time a guy gives me any sort of attention during a mystery we’re investigating, 9 times out of 10 they’re the one responsible.”

“That… can’t be true…” Starchild was trying to wrap his head around this. Was this actually true?

Velma shrugged. “Yep, it’s true. There was Gibby Norton, who tried to impress me with a ton of hair-brained schemes. Ben Ravencroft in Oakhaven, who tuned out to be a cuckoo. Ranger Knudson, who was unmasked as the Woodsman at Camp Little Moose. Windsor, who helped make a giant Phantasaur… the list goes on. Gibby and Knudson were guys I didn’t even like, but Windsor and Ben… I really liked them. Now all the guys who ever liked me are in prison, or anywhere else. So yeah, whenever a guy shows me any sort of attention, I tend to be a little cautious. Wouldn’t you?”

Starchild stared at her, speechless. Oh, sweetie… “I… I guess,” was all he could think of to say.

Velma nodded. “Exactly.” There was a pause. “Can we just head back now?”

She started walking off again. After a moment of thought, Starchild chased after her.

“Listen,” he said when he caught up with her, “you don’t have to base your worth on that, you know.”

“I don’t! I just… it would be nice if some guy with no strings attached thought I looked pretty.”

Starchild reached out and took her hand, and smiled at her when she looked up. “I think you look pretty,”

Now Velma was blinking at him. “… You do?”

“I do,” he said sincerely, remembering to pick his words carefully. Gods forbid he say the wrong thing and scare her off. “And it’s not just to throw you a bone or anything, I swear. I think you’re really pretty.” In spite of how confident he was, after being with quite a few women and men, his face couldn’t help but grow a little warm as he said the words.

“Oh…” Even in the night, from the lights illuminating the path he could see a pink blush coming to her face… and it looked really cute. She smiled, a little shyly at him. “Thanks… You’re not too bad-looking yourself.”

Starchild grinned. “Why, thank you, Velma.”

“You remember my name?” It seemed to have come out before she could stop herself, because she quickly backpedaled. “Sorry! I just… well you keep calling Fred “Frank” so I just thought…”

Starchild laughed and waved his hand as they resumed walking. “It’s all right. I know all your names. There’s you, Velma—which is a really nice name,” his smile widened when he saw Velma shyly glance away; he just couldn’t help himself. “There’s Scooby and Shaggy, Daphne, and then there’s Fred.”

Velma raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you know his actual name the whole time?”

“Maybe,” Starchild shrugged, smiling impishly at her.

“If you knew his name the whole time, why have you been calling him ‘Frank’?”

He couldn’t stop grinning at her. “Because it’s fun to mess with him.”

After a moment of her staring at him, Velma snorted and smiled—and my oh my was it a pretty smile. “Okay, you got me. It is a little fun to mess with Fred. His favorite band is the Ascot 5.”

He shrugged. “I’m indifferent to the Ascot 5. They’re good.”

“Not as good as you though, I’m guessing?”

“You know it,”

He hoped this was the beginning of something. A friendship, a relationship, whatever it would be; he would take what he would get with Miss Velma Dinkley.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

OKAY STRAP IN Y’ALL cuz I’m bored and I watched the entirety of Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery a few days ago, so here’s my review, in a bulleted list:

Apparently one of the two repairmen in the beginning was Kevin Smith, which is awesome.

I’ll be honest, if I met the Crimson Witch in real life I’d probably be scared shitless too. I mean she’s got that mask and she’s flying around with a trail of red smoke like the Wicked Witch of the West, and that voice is creepy too.

Suggested drinking game for this movie: take a drink every time the Crimson Witch says “GIVE ME ROCK!”

The whole gang (except Fred) cosplaying as KISS was funny, especially Scooby, a dog, ironically dressing up as the Catman.

The Ascot Five sounds like they would totally suck. Which is funny because it’s technically KISS.

It somehow makes sense that Fred would like a fucking a-capella band.

(Also Fred was just one huge thing of salt in this movie lol)

Apparently Chip McGoo is voiced by Doc McGhee, KISS’s actual tour manager, which is also awesome.

They made a ton of KISS merch jokes and I am HERE for that.

The Starchild flirting with Daphne was oddly not the weirdest part of this movie. if only Starchild could call me darlin and little lady

But given that KISS was a bunch of cosmic beings in this movie, it’s not entirely unfeasible for them to have had some sort of anti-aging ability.

I was crying of laughter during the “Love Gun” costume change scene.

Nitpick: as head of the tech crew, Shandi should know better and NOT BE WEARING A SHORT SKIRT AND SANDALS.

KISS swooping in and saving Shaggy and Scooby with their superpowers was so epic and cool. I particularly loved Spaceman’s lightning and the Starchild’s eye beams.

Chikara seemed like a cross between Lady Galadriel and Professor Trelawney, which was just hilarious.

(Also Velma and Spaceman were pretty cute together, but anyway...)

Apparently I can’t even get away from “Let’s Put the X in Sex” in a fucking Scooby-Doo movie (THAT SONG WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE)

I love how when Shaggy asked who would be the bait, literally everyone said “You are.” Like, KISS didn’t even know they existed until now, and they were just like, “Yeah, we’re gonna make the dog and the beatnik be the bait.”

The whole “I Was Made for Lovin You” sequence. Just... just all of it was glorious.

I lost it when I realized the Elder had a fucking NEW YORK accent.

Fred’s attempted moon. Fred, honey, just... just don’t even try.

That fight scene was actually really epic. (And of fucking course the Crimson Witch’s stone statue minions would look like that...)

The image of Paul Stanley in the recording studio saying “Yo, Witchiepoo!” makes me laugh 😆 I cannot believe they got him to say that.

The whole “Detroit Rock City” sequence was really epic too.

I was very disappointed that they completely ignored the opportunity to have Starchild yell “HOW YA DOIN’, PEOPLE?” but whatever.

I love how they handled the wild cosmic sci-if crap: in that it was all just a mass hallucination caused by drugs. (oR wAs iT???)

“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling KISS. Er, KIDS! You meddling KIDS!” Best. Meddling kids joke. Ever.

The Starchild kissing Daphne made me laugh so hard. Like it’s not even a peck on the lips, it’s a full on SMOOCH he gives her. I wish I could be kissed like that by the Starchild

The fucking twist at the end where they reveal the wild cosmic sci-fi shit was actually real (or at least part of it was).

Overall, I really liked the movie. That being said, I feel like if I watched it while on acid, I would’ve thought it was the best shit since sliced bread 😅

If they made a sequel, I certainly wouldn’t complain. Maybe they would use more lesser-known songs; don’t get me wrong, I love all the songs they used in the movie, but “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Shout it Out Loud”, and “I Was Made For Lovin You” are kind of overplayed. Their use of “Detroit Rock City” was really good though. I would definitely recommend this movie to people.

And that’s all for now. Goodnight, everyone!

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Black Dahlia (Chapter 4)

And we’re back! I’m gonna be honest, I love that for once in my life, I can actually do regular updates. It feels freakin awesome :D Enjoy Chapter 4!

They left the security building and went into the park area, passing several rides as they went. Heather found herself stuck between Spaceman and Catman, chatting gaily with them, while Starchild accompanied Daphne. Oh, and Fred and Velma, but mostly Daphne.

“So how’s Ohio?” Spaceman asked. “Last we heard, you’ve been living there.”

“Pretty nice,” Heather shrugged. “Peaceful. Not as cool as Detroit, though.”

“Hey, no place is as cool as Detroit,” Catman declared.

Heather laughed and nodded in agreement. “Got that right.”

Catman glanced behind them and pointed his thumb at Fred. “So, you and the kid related?”

“Sort of… I’m his godmother, and his honorary aunt. I’m really good friends with his mom.”

Spaceman nodded in enlightenment. “Ah, okay. It’s, uh, good you found people to stay with.”

Heather could tell an awkward silence would fall over the three of them, so she scrambled for something to say. “Yeah. And guess what? Judy—Fred’s mom—has pretty good music tastes.”

Catman and Spaceman perked up. “She like rock and roll?” Catman asked.

Heather nodded, remembering the times she and Judy would play rock music and dance around Judy’s living room. “Oh yeah, she loves it. Fred, though...” She glanced over her shoulder and leaned in close. “His favorite band is the Ascot Five.”

Spaceman winced. “Oooo, really?”

“Wait, isn’t the Ascot Five that lame do-wop group from the sixties?” Catman questioned.

Heather gestured her hand at him and nodded. “That’s exactly what I said!” 

They went to a couple of the places the Crimson Witch had been seen at. And no matter the place, there was destruction everywhere; tables and chairs toppled over, stands and displays torn apart, and scorch marks everywhere.

“Boy,” Daphne remarked as they looked around one particularly-ruined location. “This place really got worked.”

“She’s never been in the same place twice,” Starchild said. “You were right, Frank, she is looking for something.”

Fred glared at him. “It’s Fred,”

“The question is,” Velma mused aloud, “what is this rock the witch is looking for?”

Heather glanced over at Starchild, Spaceman, and Catman, who were doing a fantastic job of not replying in a way that didn’t make them suspicious. She knew they knew what she was looking for, and so did she. The Crimson Witch, as much as she liked to think herself unpredictable, was always predictable around Halloween.

Stomping boots made them all look up to see Demon striding over, looking grouchy as usual.

Starchild glanced at him, then went back to looking around. “Thought you were going to feed the beast, Demon.”

“The beast’s been fed,” Demon replied shortly. He turned and glared at Fred, Velma, and Daphne. “No thanks to that dog and that hippie.”

After sufficiently looking around, they moved on through the park.

“I have to say,” Daphne said, turning her head around, “this is some amusement park,”

“Thanks,” Starchild smiled proudly. “We each took a section and designed it ourselves.”

Demon took that as a cue and pointed up at a ride. It had a large bust of his head spitting out fire. “There’s my Brimstone Barbecue, the hottest ride in the park,”

Heather saw a car with people inside speeding towards the fire, but at the last second the fire extinguished, allowing the car to go through before reigniting. She thought she heard screaming that sounded like Shaggy and Scooby, but shrugged it off as they continued on.

Spaceman nudged Heather and pointed at a sleeker-looking ride with designs like crackling electricity. “And my Electric Alley,” he said proudly.

Heather raised an eyebrow. “Shocking,” she cracked, and laughed. Three of the four guys shook their heads at her, while Demon joined Daphne and Velma in rolling their eyes, and Fred facepalmed.

As they continued on, they passed a ride that looked like a wacked-out carousel that was suspended in the air and, instead of having horses, had leaping cats.

“Don’t forget my Whirling Wildcats!” Catman proclaimed.

Finally, they reached an intersection in the park, in the center of which was the Ferris Wheel. Starchild swept his hand grandly toward it. “And my Dynasty Star Ferris Wheel! Whoo!”

As they passed it, Heather went over to Starchild and nudged him, smirking. “I guess the best hiding places really are in plain sight.”

Starchild blinked at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said innocently, even as a small smile crept onto his face.

Heather smirked wider and elaborated. “If that’s just a Ferris Wheel, I’m Queen Mary.”

“Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He winked at her.

Velma pointed at another ride. This one was modeled after a mountain with tracks going in and out. It looked to be shut down, with “CAUTION” tape surrounding the entrance. “What��s that ride?”

Demon answered proudly. “That’s our most wicked ride of all: The Destroyer!”

Heather, who had been admiring the ride, frowned at the name and glared at Starchild. Seriously? she thought. Starchild shrugged sheepishly.

“But it’s closed to the public,” Catman said, gesturing to the “CAUTION” tape.

“The Crimson Witch scared a couple of repairmen on it earlier tonight,” Spaceman added.

“Looks pretty terrifying,” Daphne mused, looking apprehensively at the ride.

Starchild gave her a flirtatious look. “Not if you were with me, darlin’,” he said smoothly, winking at her. Daphne turned pink.

Fred, who had seen, glared annoyedly at Starchild as he and the band walked towards the main stage. “Oh, brother,” he groused.

Velma glanced at him sympathetically. “Oh, Fred,”

Fred sighed. “I’m sorry, Velma, but I can’t compete with Starchild!”

Heather patted her nephew’s shoulder. “You don’t need to, sweetie,” she reassured. “Starchild may be a flirt, but he’s pretty harmless.”

“Just remember,” Velma added, “underneath all that makeup, he’s just a regular guy who puts his pants on like everyone else.”

Heather grimaced; that was a bad choice of words. “Well…”

At that moment, Starchild spoke for her. “KISS Costume Change, activate!”

Heather frowned. That was not what she meant.

Nevertheless, KISS leapt onstage and began to glow different colors: Starchild purple, Demon red, Spaceman blue, and Catman green. There was about a minute where they waved their bodies around like lunatics, and Heather thought she heard “Love Gun” playing from somewhere. Then the colors faded, and KISS was wearing different costumes, specifically their Destroyer-era ones.

Heather raised an eyebrow. Well, that was random. Cool, but random.

Daphne just stared in amazement, while Fred now looked very annoyed. “Oh, come on!” he groaned.

“Relax, Fred,” Velma said to him as a young woman walked onstage. “I think this was all pre-planned,”

The young woman, overhearing them, spoke up. “You’re right. It was a rehearsal for tonight’s show.” She gave the band a thumbs-up. “Good test run, fellas!”

Demon said something quietly to Starchild, who murmured back and turned to the four. “Hey guys, we’re gonna take a break.” He looked to Heather. “Wanna join us?”

Heather glanced over at Fred, who was looking interestedly at the young woman. “And let my nephew have a chance at love without me teasing him? No thank you.”

Starchild looked like he wanted to laugh, but shrugged anyway. “Suit yourself,”

As the band walked offstage, the young woman bounded down the steps and held out her hand to Velma. “Hi, I’m Shandi Strutter, KISS’s head techie.”

Heather looked down at her short skirt and sandals. That is definitely not what a head techie should be wearing.

Velma shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Velma, and this is Fred, Daphne, and Heather.”

Shandi waved at them, though it looked more like a salute. “Nice to meet you!”

“So you’re the one responsible for all the band’s stage effects, huh?” Velma asked.

“Most of them, yeah,” Shandi nodded. “The guys really like to put on a show.”

Heather couldn’t help but grin at how she said “most of them.” Because the rest, they all do themselves.

“You don’t have to tell me!” Daphne exclaimed excitedly.

Fred crossed his arms. “Daphne’s a fan,” he said in annoyance. Though it sounded rather jealous to Heather.

Daphne looked insulted. “Um, KISS doesn’t have fans, Freddy. They’re called the KISS Army!”

Heather nudged Fred, smiling. “Yeah, Freddy, get your facts right,”

Fred rolled his eyes. “I prefer the Ascot Five myself,” he said to Shandi.

“Do they have an army?” she asked interestedly.

Fred looked way too proud of what he said next. “It’s more of an all-volunteer international organization of enthusiastic youths.”

Now Heather rolled her eyes, coincidentally the same way Fred did.

Shandi still seemed interested. That, or she was pretending to be. “Cool,”

“As in lame!” Daphne said. “The KISS Army’s better.”

“You’re darn right it is!” Heather agreed, grinning at Daphne and high-fiving her.

Fred sighed and said to Shandi, “My aunt’s a fan, too,”

Shandi laughed. “I can see that.”

“Well,” Velma said to Shandi, “it was nice meeting you, but we’d better get back to looking around. C’mon, guys,”

They left the stage area, waving goodbye to Shandi, and went in the other direction than the one they came from. The four were about to begin searching again when they heard screaming and the screeching of metal against metal.

“What’s all that noise?” Velma asked aloud.

Heather cocked her head and listened to the screams. Then her eyes widened. “That’s Shaggy and Scooby! Come on!”

She took off running towards the screams, with the kids running behind her.

“How can she run so fast?” Daphne asked Fred. He shrugged.

The screaming and metal scraping was coming from a ride that was sort of like a merry-go-round fused with the teacups from Disney World, except instead of teacups they were spinning drums. Heather got there first, and so saw just a glimpse of purple, red, blue, and green forms flying out of sight.

That was before a horrible smell invaded her nose, that made her let out a noise of disgust. Then fear rose in her. She knew that smell.

Heather looked to Shaggy and Scooby, who were stumbling around and looked incredibly dizzy. But they didn’t seem hurt; Heather sent a silent thank-you to wherever the guys had flown off to.

Fred, Daphne, and Velma caught up with her. “We heard the commotion!” Fred said.

“Are you guys okay?” Daphne asked worriedly.

“Hey man, heh heh…” Shaggy said woozily. “… did anyone catch the license plate number on that witch?”

Then he and Scooby fell to the ground and passed out.