[Dolls holds up his hands because god, the last thing this situation needs is Wynonna Earp.]
Please don't do that. What is she doing here? What are you doing here?
[He should know this - Jeremy said he would keep him in the loop. But the last time he talked to Jeremy was much longer ago than it should have been. Apparently forcing your friend to go back and live away from the people he cares about doesn't help maintain said friendship.
Not that that was ever intentional on Dolls' part. He loves Jeremy and would always be there for him if he asks. He just didn't feel the onus to reach out as much anymore.]
We do not owe you the explanation in this scenario.
( Doc remembers how blurred the lines became between he, Wynonna, and Dolls, how Alice's parentage could have been a floating question mark between them. Xavier and Wynonna carried as much chemistry as Doc and Wynonna, but in different forms, and it ultimately proved fleeting. Or, so they thought.
The blur of their partnership bites at Doc's tongue as he holds back everything family, Alice and Henry, and Rebekah. )
[He takes a deep breath because fair. Very fair. Running a hand over his face, he glances around the alley to make sure no one's coming.]
I wasn't ... one hundred percent dead. Jeremy figured it out. He smuggled me into Black Badge and by the time I was conscious again, you, Wynonna and Waverly were six months into your eighteen month stint in the Garden. Jeremy thought it would be best if I stayed under the radar.
[And then, when he was well enough, he funneled himself out into the Underground because staying any longer as a Black Badge lab rat was making his skin crawl.]
[But that is information. It's hard to believe it's been long enough that Alice has grown up and gone to college. It's still surprising that he and Wynonna didn't work out.]
Look, I'm not here to cause problems. I have a job to do and once it's done, I'm gone. No one has to know I was here, and I won't come back.
[But she never quite wanted him in the same way he wanted her. Sure, things didn't work out between her and Doc, but he knew where he stood in the rankings. Coming back into Wynonna's life to make her angry and never see her again - because why would she forgive him? - isn't going to make things any better.]
What can I give her, Doc? I'm going to be gone tomorrow and I can't tell her where I'm going next because I don't know. So what's the point?
[If there were ever a modern job that suited Doc Holliday, it's an insurance investigator. Dolls watches as the pictures move past until Doc settles on the gauntlet.]
That's it. Whoever's wearing it closes their fist and the air goes with it. Murder but make it fashion.
[His tone is dry, but he means it. And he's about to see if he can convince Doc to leave him and his team to it, when the music stops, and he hears a clatter, followed by the uncomfortable screech of a microphone hitting the ground.
Dolls ducks back into the room, and from the look on Serena's face, something's wrong.
"Sorry about that. What butterfingers." She stammers as she looks up, slightly rattled. She picks up the microphone, and glances back to meet Dolls' eyes in the crowd. "How about a little Blue Bayou?"
Blue Bayou was the agreed upon code phrase if trouble was afoot. He scans the crowd for any sign of Alys and realizes she must have headed down on her own.]
[He tips his head to the side, because if Doc Holliday is going to crash his party, he might as well use him. Serena's trapped on the stage, after all.]
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cosmiccon) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
everyonelives2023-01-03 09:05 pm
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Please don't do that. What is she doing here? What are you doing here?
[He should know this - Jeremy said he would keep him in the loop. But the last time he talked to Jeremy was much longer ago than it should have been. Apparently forcing your friend to go back and live away from the people he cares about doesn't help maintain said friendship.
Not that that was ever intentional on Dolls' part. He loves Jeremy and would always be there for him if he asks. He just didn't feel the onus to reach out as much anymore.]
no subject
( Doc remembers how blurred the lines became between he, Wynonna, and Dolls, how Alice's parentage could have been a floating question mark between them. Xavier and Wynonna carried as much chemistry as Doc and Wynonna, but in different forms, and it ultimately proved fleeting. Or, so they thought.
The blur of their partnership bites at Doc's tongue as he holds back everything family, Alice and Henry, and Rebekah. )
no subject
I wasn't ... one hundred percent dead. Jeremy figured it out. He smuggled me into Black Badge and by the time I was conscious again, you, Wynonna and Waverly were six months into your eighteen month stint in the Garden. Jeremy thought it would be best if I stayed under the radar.
[And then, when he was well enough, he funneled himself out into the Underground because staying any longer as a Black Badge lab rat was making his skin crawl.]
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( Trying. For the first time. It's proving more complicated. )
Did Black Badge dig up your body?
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As far as I know, I was never buried.
[But that is information. It's hard to believe it's been long enough that Alice has grown up and gone to college. It's still surprising that he and Wynonna didn't work out.]
Look, I'm not here to cause problems. I have a job to do and once it's done, I'm gone. No one has to know I was here, and I won't come back.
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( They all did, except apparently not Jeremy. They will be having words later if he takes his calls. )
I interrupted?
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What can I give her, Doc? I'm going to be gone tomorrow and I can't tell her where I'm going next because I don't know. So what's the point?
[A deep breath.]
And yes, you interrupted.
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[Because once a soldier, always a soldier. Never truly allowed to be anything else.]
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( His wife's family has been concerning themselves. )
What does the powerful magical artifact do?
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[Some might be able to, but not all.]
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( Why send someone breathing when a vampire can do the job. This is a danger. )
I am employed as an insurance investigator.
( He pulls out his phone, finding the picture he is tasked with locating, an ornate box, holding it up so Dolls can see. )
Is this what you're looking for?
( He swipes across, revealing a horse, and a painting, and finally this gauntlet. )
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That's it. Whoever's wearing it closes their fist and the air goes with it. Murder but make it fashion.
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( Which means his job here is about red tape and misrepresentation. It means paperwork. )
You have eased my job considerably.
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[His tone is dry, but he means it. And he's about to see if he can convince Doc to leave him and his team to it, when the music stops, and he hears a clatter, followed by the uncomfortable screech of a microphone hitting the ground.
Dolls ducks back into the room, and from the look on Serena's face, something's wrong.
"Sorry about that. What butterfingers." She stammers as she looks up, slightly rattled. She picks up the microphone, and glances back to meet Dolls' eyes in the crowd. "How about a little Blue Bayou?"
Blue Bayou was the agreed upon code phrase if trouble was afoot. He scans the crowd for any sign of Alys and realizes she must have headed down on her own.]
Shit.
no subject
What, I quite like Blue Bayou. It is a tad repetitive but it is stylistic and romantic.
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It's a code phrase. It means something's wrong.
[He tips his head to the side, because if Doc Holliday is going to crash his party, he might as well use him. Serena's trapped on the stage, after all.]
C'mon. I think my teammate's in trouble.
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( He lets Dolls take point, noticing Serena now (17) as an ally of Doll's as well. )
How many are assisting you at present?
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[With Doc. Doc distracted him.]
- And she must have gone on without me.
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( He's certainly not going to take responsibility. )
no subject
C'mon. They're camped out on the basement level.
[And with that they will head off to meet up with Alys.]