The New Girl preplay

[seaoftroubles]

Directly off the end of last episode! Jordan decides to murder Nathan since Audrey isn't Audrey. There's a fight and lots of running and shouting. Eventually Lexi fires into the air to get everyone to stop. Duke says he can maybe clear things up if he talks to Vince, and gets Vince to agree to not kill Nathan right away so they can make Lexi fall in love with him and kill him instead. So basically, DUKE STALLS LIKE WOAH

Vince decides the best way to get Lexi in love with Nathan is to have her tag along on a trouble investigation like Audrey did. They head out to a case where a kid flipped his lid and tried to kill his girlfriend on a date, only to end up locked in a freezer. Nathan, Lexi, and Duke go to face him down, and see him end up slitting his own throat.

Duke ends up leading the questioning of the kid's girlfriend, because Nathan is being all strong silent type. Signs point to a hospitalized kid named Tyler being involved, he's in the hospital because he was paralyzed in a big car accident both the victim and his girlfriend were also in. Lexi just wants food. Duke is all "Nathan, come on, I know you have no game BUT THIS IS THE WOMAN YOU LOVE. SORT OF."

Duke and Nathan question Tyler while Lexi goes to get a CT scan. Tyler says that he felt like he was out of control when Katie looked at him, like she's troubled. Nathan gives the kid his card, and then Duke gives him a little "prescription" for free drinks at the Gull. Meanwhile, Katie throws herself in front of a car. Fun!

Duke gets Jennifer to go home for awhile. If anyone goes with her, they may get to see Jordan hit on Wade. If not . . . that'll just happen off screen. I'm guessing Luce and Tavi will be stuck to Duke for most of this?

Lexi says maybe it's Tyler because Josh and Katie were clearly getting it on behind his back. They all go back to the hospital, but find a dead orderly instead of Tyler. Duke goes to find a nurse -- this is where he gets possessed, and possibly where we start to go our own way because he has actual loved ones around who worry about him in our version.

Tyler-in-Duke sidetracks Lexi and Nathan and locks them in a walk in cooler. He tries to dodge Luce and Tavi too. I'm guessing it doesn't work well.

Perhaps they take him back to the Gull? He manages to get a minute alone with Wade to get the idea to kill his own body so he can stay in Duke's. He manages to get away from Luce and Tavi somehow and heads for the hospital, possibly with a very confused Jennifer in tow.

Lexi (and probably immune Lucifer?) heads in to deal with Tyler and keep him from murdering anyone, only to at the last minute "chicken out" and let Tyler try to kill his own body. This sets off Duke's trouble, which override's Tyler's trouble, saving Duke from the possession. Hurray!

Duke manages to pull Lexi aside at the Gull to point out that Audrey totally would have known what would have happened, and she admits to only pretending to be Lexi. Show ends here. Pretty sure Duke will want to stick around to try to clear things up/get rid of Wade, and this is where Lucifer and Octavia DRAG HIM BODILY HOME IF NECESSARY. And then it's all over but the moody moody aftermath, mmmmmm

Comments

On the bluff, continued

[seaoftroubles]

Fight fight fight fight "HEY STOP FIGHTING WHAT THE FUCK" and then Duke Has a Plan!

Re: On the bluff, continued

[seaoftroubles]

Nathan and Lexie, a woman with long, tousled hair, messier than Audrey ever wore it, and tight black clothes, heavy eyeliner, and piercings, slowly stood.

"Your name is Lexie?" Nathan demanded.

"I guess you were expecting someone else?" Lexie asked.

Jordan yanked a shotgun out of the hands of one of her Guardsmen. "Shoot him!"

"I'm not shooting anyone!" Lexie said. "Who are you people?!"

Re: On the bluff, continued

[my_own_advocate]

"Drama queens!" Lucifer hollered.

He hadn't actually vacated the premises. He'd just moved off to the side, where he was currently making his way through the contents of his flask like a champ.

Re: On the bluff, continued

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was still rooted in place, looking a lot more steady than she felt.

All of this felt very likely to go sideways very fast.

World's most awkward first date

[seaoftroubles]

Or maybe the world's largest ride along, as Duke and Luce and Tavi join Nathan and Lexi on a trouble investigation to try to get Lexi to fall for Nathan.

Re: World's most awkward first date

[seaoftroubles]

A call came in from Dwight as the group got themselves together, and Vince led Nathan, Lexie, Duke, and Octavia downtown to where a young man had apparently lost his mind in the middle of a lunch date with his girlfriend.

Nathan was taking to the current plan about as well as Lucifer and Octavia had. "This is your plan?"

"How many times do I have to have this conversation?" Duke asked the sky. "No, Nathan. This is your plan, remember? Just with a different girl this time."

Re: World's most awkward first date

[okteiviakom]

The times Octavia found herself agreeing with Nathan were very rare, but this was definitely one of them.

Not that she said so, beyond something of a dry look.

(She wasn't here to talk, anyway.)

Re: World's most awkward first date

[betterthanaplan]

Duke caught that look and dutifully ignored it. It was easy, since while she was giving it, Nathan was insisting "I'm in love with Audrey."

"Yes, we are all very aware of that," Duke said, rolling his eyes. "But good news, you don't have to love her ba --"

He cut off as a scream came from inside the restaurant, and both he and Nathan broke into a run.

Hospital, part one

[seaoftroubles]

Questioning Tyler for the first time. Duke gives the kid a drink coupon. Maybe Tavi or Luce give him something, too? IDK, that's up to you. I'm guessing at least one of them starts getting impatient because Lexi maybe isn't Audrey but she's KIND OF back and they want to drag Duke out of there already?

Re: Hospital, part one

[betterthanaplan]

After handwavily interviewing Katie, the girl Josh had been having lunch with, the trouble team du jour headed to the hospital to talk to Tyler, her boyfriend and Josh's best friend. Octavia was lovingly modded to be hanging back and letting the others take point, mostly making sure that Duke didn't get into too much trouble (and maybe that no one tried to force anyone else into anything too lovey-dovey).

They didn't. Mostly, Duke took the lead on the interviews, occasionally giving Nathan meaningful looks to be less of a depressed asshole and actually try talking to Lexie, even just, like, as a person if not as a prospective future love interest.

Tyler, unsurprisingly, was also depressed. He was in his early 20s and paralyzed thanks to an accident in which, he claimed, his girlfriend had given him suspicious looks. Nathan thanked the kid, and Duke offered him a quickly scrawled coupon for a free drink at the Gull when he got out of the hospital, and they stepped back into the hallway to discuss things -- and reconnect with Lexie, who'd gone to get her head examined.

"What did the doctor say?" Nathan asked her. Hey, he was speaking to her directly. Progress!

"Right as rain," Lexie said, shrugging. "Healthy. But I don't really trust doctors." She gave Duke and Octavia a meaningful look, expecting them to agree with her.

Re: Hospital, part one

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had no response to that - but the wary looks she was occasionally casting at her surroundings right now said enough, really.

It wasn't that she didn't trust doctors. She just didn't like hospitals very much.

Possible Gull interlude

[seaoftroubles]

Should anyone stalk off or decide to accompany Jennifer back to the bar

Re: Possible Gull interlude

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer wasn't actually gone long - in human Earth terms. In his own estimation, he'd spent at least a month with Dan, fruitlessly trying to dig at the core of his guilt.

It was about as long as he was comfortable leaving Duke alone. It had also been necessary, to settle some of the dust that bizarre plan had kicked up in his mind.

"Right," he said, opening the door into the Gull. "So where's the owner?"

Re: Possible Gull interlude

[seaoftroubles]

"Oh good, it's my brother's asshole boyfriend," Wade said with a sigh. "I figured he was off somewhere with you."

Hospital part 2

[seaoftroubles]

Lexi is like "maybe it's this Tyler kid" and they go to check it out. If someone stomped off in a huff earlier, maybe this goes more like canon? If not, then Tyler will maybe make his escape after a CONFRONTATION with Luce and Tavi as well as locking Nathan and Lexi in a cooler.

Or he locks all four of them in? IDK, what do you all think?

Re: Hospital part 2

[seaoftroubles]

Katie, as it turned out, had been busy throwing herself in front of a speeding car when Nathan had decided she might be the center of this trouble. Which seemed like a pretty good indicator that she, you know, wasn't. Shortly after checking out the scene, Lexie announced her theory: that Tyler had lied, and possessed his friends because they were seeing each other behind his back.

"Bartender, remember?" She smiled. "I know things."

And so they were back at the hospital. "Tyler," Nathan said, knocking on the door to the kid's room. "It's Haven Police again. We need to talk." He reached for hte shoulder of the man lying on his side, facing away from them, and rolled him over. "Tyler. Hey."

"Oh," Lexie said, when she got a look at the dead man in glasses lying there. "Tyler is dead."

Duke shook his head. "That's not him."

"I thought you said he was a paraplegic." Lexie looked between Nathan and Duke with a frown. "Where could he have gone?"

Duke backed out of the room, reaching for Octavia's hand. "We'll try to find his nurse."

Re: Hospital part 2

[my_own_advocate]

"Duke?" Lucifer called, stalking through the hallway. "Octavia? Are you there?"

He wasn't about to admit to how fast he'd flown here. That would be ridiculous.

At the Gull part 2

[seaoftroubles]

Tyler-in-Duke manages a minute alone with Wade somehow and gets the idea to off his own body. Heads back to the hospital, possibly with Jennifer in tow, maybe with a tail made up of Luce and Tavi.

Re: At the Gull part 2

[betterthanaplan]

Everyone in town knew about the Grey Gull, so Tyler knew just where to go after fleeing the hospital. This Duke guy was loaded -- it was the best bar in town. Tyler would swing by there, rob the place blind, and then head for Canada.

Or maybe Atlantic City?

No. Mexico.

"Back so soon, little brother?" a voice asked as he searched the bar -- the stupid guy was being no help in finding the safe. "What's the, uh, trouble du jour?"

Fuck. Why did this body have to be so popular? Tyler ignored the guy.

"You gonna fill me in, huh?" the man asked, then sighed. "Figures. Why would you let me help?"

Wade! Duke cried, desperately trying to wrench control of his body back. Wade!! He was giving Tyler a headache. There had to be something he could do to make the guy shut up.

"Actually, maybe you can help," Tyler decided, turning to the older man. "See, t-there's this, um." What words were those cops using? "This Troubled guy. Who can possess people."

Wade looked impressed. "Really? Wow. That can happen?"

"Weird, right?" Tyler asked. "Yeah. Yeah, he he can jump into another person's body and and control them for a while, but then whoosh." Tyler spread his hands. "He ends up back in his old body. He's trying to figure out how to keep that from Happening, how to stay in the other person's body."

Wade nodded slowly, then shrugged. "Well, maybe if he, uh I don't know kills the old body, he can stay in the new one."

Wade you fucking idiot, Duke said. Tyler smiled.

"That'd be a really good idea." He nodded. Maybe having a big brother wasn't so bad. "Thank you. You've actually been very helpful." He turned back to trying to open the register.

"Duke?" Wade said, suspicious now. "It's not you, is it?"

Tyler sighed and straightened. He turned, tilting his head. "No, it's not."

He slammed his fist into Wade's face, knocking him to the floor. Damn, but this body was powerful. He could get used to this.

fucking idiot fuck get away from my brother you fucking psycho

"Now," Tyler said, ignoring Duke's ranting. "Tell me, do you have a safe here?"

Wade scowled up at him. "You son of a bitch. What happened to Duke?"

Tyler shrugged. "He's still in here. He's just . . . riding in the backseat."

I'll backseat you you fucking

"Thanks to you," Tyler said, overtop Duke's rant, "I think we know how to fix that now. First, the safe." He knelt down next to Wade. "Now, do you want to tell me where it is, or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Tires rolled across the gravel parking lot outside and Tyler looked up out the door with a frown. A woman was climbing out of an SUV.

"And now we're out of time," he hissed. And slammed his fist into Wade's head, knocking him out.

Re: At the Gull part 2

[seaoftroubles]

Jennifer strode into the Gull, jaw set. "Duke, I have made up my mind and and don't try to talk me out of it!"

Huh. Duke had a lot of hot lady friends, didn't he. "Okay."

Jennifer nodded. "I'm going back to Baltimore!"

Tyler glanced to the side, waiting to see if the little voice in his head had any hints about how to react to that. ". . . Have fun."

Jennifer wilted. "Okay, well, you could try to talk me out of it just a little."

Not the right take then. Tyler looked her over, thought of the goth chick and the fancy man and how they'd both been so desperate to get Duke back. Guy got around. He dipped his chin, looking up at her through Duke's absurdly long lashes. "I'm sorry. I must have misunderstood. Actually, um, I'm leaving town too." He offered her a shy smile. "What do you think about coming with me?"

In his corner, Duke silently despaired. Jennifer did not deserve this shit. None of them did.

Jennifer frowned, blinking, and bit her lip. "Okay, I think, um. . . ." She hesitated, glancing around for Lucifer and Octavia, but didn't see anyone else. "But, uh, what -- or where --"

And then Tyler kissed her.

"Um!" she said. "Oh! I -- I mean, not that I haven't thought about -- with the -- and the other two -- but -- kinda fast?"

"Fast can be good, though," Tyler said, as Duke's cursing built in intensity. "Right?"

Jennifer studied his face. Noticed again that neither Lucifer nor Octavia were around, which seldom happened. Had they had a fight? Things had seemed tense between them after the blood stuff, but then during the yoga and all they'd been fine. . . .

Stall. She should stall.

"Okay! I just need to get my things." She turned to go and Tyler reached for her hand.

". . . We can get new things."

Okay, she couldn't stall. But she was sure as hell going to stick to him like glue until she figured out what the hell was going on with him. "Okay," she said, a little breathless. "Yeah, I can be spontaneous! Let's go."

Tyler gave her a slow, sweet smile. "I just need to make a quick stop. I need to pay an old friend a final visit."

Jennifer nodded and followed him out to the SUV. Any chance she got when he didn't seem to be paying her attention, though, she started typing out a text to Octavia.

sumthin up w Duke
maybe a trouble????

She was not up to dealing with one of those on her own, thanks.

Hospital part 3

[seaoftroubles]

The climax! Lexi, supposedly not knowing about Duke's trouble, decides to let Tyler off himself. I feel like Lucifer might need sidetracking here somehow, since he would be very likely to spill the beans on Duke's trouble? Or maybe he just gets hung up on the "EXCUSE YOU DO NOT MAKE MY BOYFRIEND'S BODY KILL ANYONE ARE YOU KIDDING HE'S ENOGUH OF A MESS AS IT IS" or something and not get around to mentioning it.

Re: Hospital part 3

[seaoftroubles]

"Uhhh," Jennifer said, looking up as Tyler pulled her rented SUV into the hospital parking lot. "What are we doing at the hospital? Do you need a distraction? Should I flash my boobs?"

Duke should have had a similarly silly one-liner to throw back at her, she knew him well enough to know that by now. This person -- not-Duke -- looked at her like she'd said something insane.

". . . Okay." He looked away, tugging something from his pocket. Jennifer realized with a start that he was armed.

Which, okay, the time for stalling and playing along was over. She really hoped that someone -- Octavia, preferably -- showed up as the cavalry soon, but in the meantime, it was Jennifer Mason, cub reporter to the rescue!

"What's wrong, babe?" The not-Duke guy asked.

"Babe," Jennifer echoed. "You know, I knew you were acting off. I thought maybe you were still a little drunk or something. But now . . . I'd swear you were hit by a trouble."

The man started to turn on her and she snatched her pen out of the SUV's center console and slammed it full force into his leg. He dropped his gun with a wail -- ha! Take that, dickbag! -- and she snatched it up even as she threw herself out of the car.

"I don't know who you really are, but I will shoot you, and I'll probably accidentally hit you in the face, so don't come near me!"

Tyler stared at the crazy lady -- why was it always the hot ones? because she's right, you're a bag of dicks -- and shook his head, throwing himself into a limping run towards the basement entrance, where he'd stashed his body.

Forget her. Forget those other jackasses in the vault. Forget fancy pants and his creepy eyes. Tyler was going to off his body, and then they could just get to mourning this Duke asshole and he could move on with his life.

Re: Hospital part 3

[my_own_advocate]

Octavia had sent Lucifer off to go find Duke the second she was in the capable hands of a medic. Then there had been texts, and now--

(nonono)

And now Lucifer was heading outside of the hospital as fast as he possibly could, barely biting down the urge to call for Duke (what point would there be to that?) or anyone else. This might be their last chance to find him, for all he knew.

(Nononononononononono.)

Gull part 3

[seaoftroubles]

Duke: "But Audrey Parker would know! Isn't that right, Audrey?"

Lucifer: "Yep, fuck this shit, we're out." *throws Duke over his shoulder and flies off*

OOC

[seaoftroubles]

I EVEN TOSSED OUT A BUNCH OF SCENES AND THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY SCENES OMG.