A/N: for those of you who didn't keep up with all the wacky capers of the Scooby Doo franchise, this fiction is going to feature aspects of some of the recent TV shows and a couple of older movies, namely the "Reluctant Werewolf" and "Ghoul School" feature films. You'll see why in a bit.

In Plain Sight

2. Do You Believe in Magic?

On a Tuesday evening, most community college students would be studying for a test, doing homework, or sitting down to watch television. This was not so for the four kids and one rather talkative Great Dane that comprised the detective agency known as Mystery Incorporated. Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, and Scooby Doo were yet again focused on a mystery. This time, the gang was trying to capture a man masquerading as a troll in a warehouse to cover up a counterfeiting scheme. All they had to do was catch the masked man in the act.

"Okay, Scooby and Shaggy will act as live bait, leading the monster into the net trap." Fred informed the others of his latest plan. "When the troll walks on top of the rope net, Daphne, Velma, and I will pull the net in the air, catching our crook."

"Are you sure you want me up on the catwalk, Freddie?" Daphne asked worriedly. Usually, when she was assigned the high railing, her natural clumsiness made her fall off!

"Sure I'm sure!" He said. "Those karate classes you've been taking are starting to pay off!"

"If you say so." The redhead said, hands on her hips.

"I would, but I'm afraid I'd lose my glasses." Velma smiled sheepishly. The brunette girl was rather notorious for losing her eyewear, and was quite blind without them.

"Velma, we need to get you a pair of keepers for those glasses." Shaggy said. "That or a pair of goggles."

"No way!" Daphne protested. "Goggles are so not the right way to go with her facial structure!"

"Can we just get on with the plan?" Fred asked impatiently.

"Of course, Freddie." Daphne smiled, her blue-green eyes glistening with mischief. "But if I get hurt, I'm blaming you."

As soon as the trap was set, Daphne knew they were in trouble. Instead of netting the monster, they'd caught Shaggy and Scooby. That led to the creature running over Velma, Freddie whacking it over the head, and subsequently being thrown into a stack of cardboard boxes, and Velma losing her glasses in the scuffle. The fashionable redhead had been running down the not-so-stable metal stairs of the catwalk when the troll fiend decided to come after her.

"Nice troll." She smiled sheepishly as it blocked her exit, wrapping its massive hands around the thin railing. "Oh no you don't!" She shouted, making a mad lunge toward it. The costumed fiend was caught off guard by the action, and both tumbled back down the stairs. Daphne landed flat on her back, the troll-man half on top of her legs. He got up first, searching for something to take his mind off the bruises he would no doubt have in the morning. He settled on Velma, since Fred was now perched precariously on top of a box while attempting to cut Scooby and Shaggy free. The smaller girl had just gotten her glasses back on in time to see the monster come up to grab her.

He didn't notice Daphne getting shakily to her feet behind him. She looked over just in time to see one of her best friends about to become a troll's chew toy, and a fury unlike any other took over. "Leave her alone!" She shouted, causing the creature to turn around. A violent lavender aura now surrounded the teen as she stepped closer to the would-be attacker. Stunned by the sudden colorful and powerful display, the monster took a step backward…and tripped over Velma. Now squarely on his behind, the girls seized the opportunity and pinned the man just as Shaggy and Scooby hit the ground with a thud.

"Wow. That was, like, an awesome light show, Daph." Shaggy smiled. "I give it two thumbs up!" he and Scooby both held two thumbs up for her.

"Light show?" She asked, thoroughly confused. She hadn't seen any light shows!

"Get her away!" The now unmasked crook said as sirens sounded outside. "Get her away from me!"

"Oh chill out! There's a nice comfy jail cell with your name on it." The redhead pointed out as the cops entered.

"Still, that was pure genius, Daphne." Velma praised. "I didn't know you had luminescent fibers woven into your clothes for tonight."

"I didn't." Daphne blinked. "What are you all going on about?"

"Daph, when you got mad at him, this purple light shone all around you." Fred said, looking at her strangely. "You mean you didn't plan it?"

"No, guys. I have no idea where it came from." She shook her head. "Kind of like those dreams. It's starting to freak me out!"

"Let's go somewhere else and talk about this." Velma said. "It looks like we already have another mystery on our hands."

"Now, what is this about strange dreams?" Fred asked. The four teens and the dog were now seated in a local diner.

Daphne let out a sigh. "They started way back when I turned sixteen. The dreams used to be once every couple months, but now I see them every night." She explained. "They're not really coherent or anything, but it's always the same! I'm in this palace, with a woman who looks just like me and this adorable baby girl. She tells me 'Daphne, take your sister somewhere the Coven can't find her', and then the next thing I know I'm in a fire!"

"Huh." Shaggy blinked. "That's odd all right."

"Reah. Rodd." Scooby nodded in agreement.

"But that's not the end of it." Daphne shook her head. "After the flames, I'm in some kind of fight with these three hideous old women. Witches, I think. One of them encased me in ice. Another drained my strength with darkness. And the last used the power of nature to start to tear me to bits…and then I wake up." She ran a hand through her orange-red hair. "I wish I knew why that dream keeps coming back."

"Maybe it's something you saw in a movie?" Fred suggested. "Watch any scary witch movies lately?"

"No." Daphne answered. "That's not it. Look, I know it sounds crazy, but everything felt real in that dream. And it was all so vivid…I want to say it's a memory, but I can't see how that could be true!" She exclaimed. "I don't have a younger sister. I haven't died. I don't recall ever being trapped in a fire or living in a castle either. But for some reason it always shows up in my dreams."

"That is suspicious." Velma thought. "Daphne, is there anything else about these dreams that could help explain that aura? Maybe even a real life experience?"

"Well, this is going to sound crazy but…there at the end, it felt like I had wings." Daphne said. "But none of it makes any sense! I mean, I know I was adopted as a baby, but I know for a fact that I didn't have wings!"

"I'm going to do some research and see if I can't find anything about mysterious auras." Velma sighed. "In the meantime, I guess you better keep us posted on anything new you see in these dreams."

"Yeah, I guess I will." Daphne looked away as the group began to disperse. "Until then, I guess I'll see you guys around campus."

"Of course!" Fred said. "We're here for you, Daph. If you need anything, give one of us a call."

She smiled back. "I will. Don't worry about me. You all drive safely back home, okay?"

"Like, don't we always?" Shaggy offered his usual goofy grin.

Back in the comfort of his own dorm room, Shaggy began to ponder the night's events. The air around Daphne tonight had a weird flavor to it, one he couldn't identify at first. When the lights first appeared, he thought it was just a fancy trick, but now…he was almost positive that it was magic.

The rest of the gang wasn't aware of it, but magic and magical creatures did exist in this world of theirs, and not just in his over-active imagination. Over the last summer, he'd been turned into a temporary werewolf by Dracula and his for-hire witches and then recruited to teach at a finishing school for female ghouls run by a genial old witch named Miss Grimwood. And due to these experiences in the magical underworld (mostly the werewolf thing, though), he'd developed a higher sensitivity to it than most mere mortals.

If you got close enough to a magical being, you could get a 'feel' or sometimes 'smell' for what their magic was like. The Witch Sisters that Dracula hired used magic that bore a rather pungent clove-laden odor to it and was cold when it crept past you, while Revolta's concoctions smelled more like rotting eggs and gave off an uneasy electric jolt when used in close proximity. Miss Grimwood's magic smelled like roses and felt warm and comforting. And Daphne…Daphne's felt like calm ocean waves and smelled about the same.

Did that make Daphne a witch? A monster?

Rrrrrrrrumbllllle.

"All this thinking is sure making me hungry." The boy sighed. "Guess I'll get a late night snack and think some more on this in the morning. I wonder if maybe she could help…" It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? Even if it meant having to admit to keeping secrets, if it could help get to the root of Daphne's mysterious origins, it was well worth a shot.

Yep. First thing in the morning, he would be making a call to an old employer.