#lol daphne and heather are right; the kiss army's way better

[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.