A/N: FINALLY! The glitch is gone! Thank God, I was starting to think it'd last forever! But back to the fanfic. I love the chappie. Actually, the next two I love. There's a lot more revealed about the past and stuff, and these first flashbacks are the dreams that Courtney has while she's sleeping. The pretty line breaks indicate a separate flashback in the dream, but I think the time difference is pretty apparent. I took the best DxC moments that were appropriate for this moment, so don't get upset that I don't have EVERYTHING in here so far. A horizontal ruler represents a separate location or a certain amount of time passing.
About the actual TV series: seriously think about watching it. Not just to understand the fanfic, but just for fun. It's really interesting, and if you've started watching it, a character to look out for: Mellie. She's just so...awesome. I'm a sucker for the haplessly lovestruck, what can I say? Just go to the FOX website and you can watch the full episodes online. So are we cool? Okay, review, disclaimer is in the first chapter, let's get the show on the road!
"Oh my gosh! Ew!!! You were cuddling me!" Courtney practically screamed to Duncan and shot up off the ground (actually, off his chest), which then woke up the rest of the Killer Bass team, sans Katie and Sadie. Her screaming was all just to cover up the ENORMOUS blush that was creeping up her cheeks. She managed to just barely keep it down.
"I was calmly lying on my back trying to catch a few Zs. YOU were cuddling up to ME." Duncan grinned. He had won this battle.
"OGRE!" She screamed before getting to work packing everything. Duncan couldn't keep the grin off his face for the rest of the day.
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Courtney's stomach was growling. She hadn't eaten any food because the food being served was garbage—literally. Along with that, she was dog-tired. And to make matters worse, Duncan was picking on Harold—again.
"That's not juice!" Harold spat out the liquid from the cup Duncan gave him.
"Oh, oh, my mistake dude! We must've confused it with the kitchen grease!" Duncan and Geoff were about to collapse from laughter. Courtney took this opportunity to scold both guys, specifically Duncan—and also to be close to him. Although SHE would never admit it, at least, not at the time, she had a huge crush on him, and she didn't even really know it.
"You guys are so immature! I hope you're proud of yourselves!" Courtney scolded the two. Duncan stopped laughing and plastered a smug smirk on his face.
"Okay, look: I know you like me. He knows you like me, EVERYONE knows it! So here's a tip: if you want to kiss me, I might let you." Duncan grinned. The battle wasn't over though.
"AND TO THINK I ACTUALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE!" Courtney yelled at him. Duncan needed to cover this up—and fast.
"Psh, me, nice? Yeah right!"
"Why'd you think that?" Geoff asked Courtney while munching on some burnt toast. And Duncan had tried to silence her, so she took pity on him…for the time being.
"Never mind! He's just as gross and annoying as he wants you to believe! ENJOY YOUR GARBAGE!" Courtney glared at the two guys before walking away.
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"I'm going to check on him." Courtney stood up from her seat, paste in hand.
"You like him." Geoff teased while he stopped toying with his mush.
"I DO NOT LIKE HIM!" Courtney vehemently denied.
"Yes you do." Geoff insisted.
"Not only do I not like him, I can't stand him. He's rude, he's rebellious, and he's totally annoying…I'm going to check on him." Courtney left the mess hall, got a flashlight from her cabin, and skulked to the boathouse where Duncan was being kept.
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Courtney had gone on a food raid with Duncan, just to experience the rush of being bad for once. Of course, if she still had a shred of awareness left, she'd realize that she shouldn't do that because of the cameras. But…her mind got lost in Duncan. After eating 10 peanut butter sandwiches, she ended up throwing up outside of the cabin. Duncan took notice and walked outside, a part of him wanting to see if she was okay, a larger part wanting to rub her embarrassment in her face (if she had any, which she did).
"So the princess has a dark side." Courtney heard HIM and turned around, just barely managing to keep herself from collapsing onto the steps of the cabin. Duncan would've helped her up, but the opportunity to tease her was just too good to resist.
"Okay, that was so gross. But it was like, once I did something bad, it was so much fun I just wanted MORE!" Courtney almost flailed her hands in the air and almost laughed maniacally, but she had a little bit of awareness back, and she held her other wants and desires down.
"Well, you could always give me that kiss, that'd be pretty bad." He just had to offer it, just to see if she'd take the hint and FUCKING KISS HIM ALREADY! How long had they been there, almost a month?! It's about time! At least, that's what Duncan was thinking. Courtney didn't give her decision a second thought.
"You're still not my type." And just to emphasize it, she ruffled his green Mohawk. Duncan was NOT letting this opportunity slide!
"Fine. Enjoy a peanut butter-less life." He crossed his arms and looked away. He then felt a nudge, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Courtney mirror his actions.
"Thanks; enjoy prison." And as a quick-fire action, he nudged her.
"I will." He grinned. Then about a second of silence before he felt two hands on his face and VERY warm lips pressed against his. His eyes were wide, and then they slowly closed. But just as he was getting into it, she pulled away and left him smiling like an idiot (well, they both were).
Courtney woke up the next morning alone. She just lay on her sunken bed, looking up to the ceiling. The others who were in the room had left and were busying themselves with some quiet activity. That blonde girl is probably meditating again, and Eva is probably weight-lifting. But what is that GORGEOUS guy doing?Then she remembered her dream. She knew they were abnormal, and didn't know what to make of them. In fact, yesterday had been very weird. From Courtney's newfound awareness, she knew that the people she saw all had some connection to each other—and to herself. Somehow, she also knew that her flashbacks took place in the summer at a summer camp, and that she had definitely been a HUGE bitch back then. How far was back then anyway? However, a woman interrupted her thoughts.
"Would you like your clothes now Courtney?" The woman held a bundle of new clothes, a dark pink V-neck camisole and dark blue cargo pants instead of gaucho knit pants. Courtney's words were lodged in her throat, so she merely nodded and stood up. "All right. Would you care for a massage afterward?"
"No thank you." Courtney looked down at her clothes, and the woman left. Courtney had a lot to think about today. She set off to change in a changing room and take a shower.
"At least we brought her back Heather!" Chase yelled. He was in Heather's office with Harold.
"I don't care if you brought her back; I should have you fired for losing track of her in the first place!" Heather Greer, head of the Vegas branch of Mann Corporation (and single), yelled back at Chase. "But I won't, because you're special."
"Oh really?" Chase smirked.
"Yes." Heather remained calm. "You're the only one of us who can truly blend into the crowd and see what everyone thinks of us, especially the FBI. We can't have them discovering the complex. And I'm not about to lose my job because of an incompetent Clerk!" She slammed her hand on the table she was sitting at. She then got up and dusted herself off. Heather's hair was as long as ever, even in the same hairstyle, but she was wearing a burgundy colored wrap dress.
"And you're not about to let The Sir down, are you?" The Sir was the codename/nickname for the CEO of Mann Corporation. The Sir ran the company, and had the ultimate ability of firing the head of any branch of the corporation.
"He's an old acquaintance. And I've paid my debt to him." Heather walked up to Chase. "We're keeping you as Courtney's Clerk, so don't lose track of her again, okay? Or it's your job on the line, and since you know about us, The Sir, as you so aptly call him, will want you dead."
"I understand." Chase nodded.
"Harold, keep an eye on him before our next client comes. We'll have Courtney out on the field for the next client, no matter the request, EVEN IF THE CLIENT DOESN'T WANT HER."
"Yes Ms. Greer." Harold slightly bowed and showed—or shoved—Chase out the door. "You got lucky this time. Don't think you'll be so lucky the next."
"Yes sir."
"Hey babe." A man wearing a familiar green camo shirt, black dress pants, and green sneakers lightly kissed his long-time girlfriend. His girlfriend had teal streaks in her black hair, and it was shoulder length, and she had on blue lipstick, a dark black V-neck shirt with a black leather jacket on top, a short black skirt, and stiletto boots.
"Another great performance Trent?" Her black eyes lit up in excitement of yet another sold-out concert. After the events of TD, a chance encounter brought Gwen and Trent back together, and the two rekindled their broken relationship. Now, they were as happy as ever. Gwen was Trent's PR in a sense (she helped design ads and commercials), and Trent was a famous music star. He hadn't received an award yet, but he was determined to do so, and that's why the two were on a world tour, currently in Japan. Their next stop was the United States, and then they'd be back in their home country of Canada. The two were still dating, and they wanted to get married as soon as they got back home in Canada.
"Yep, and it was our last one here. We're going to head off tomorrow morning to Los Angeles."
"Hey, do you think we'll be able to visit some of our friends from TD? I know a few of them live there."
"I know that Geoff and Bridgette live there. Maybe we could drop by and catch up on old times."
"Do you think they're still dating?" Gwen and Trent hadn't heard from any of their friends from TD in over a year, and they were one of the few former reality stars that kept in touch with all of their friends.
"They could be married by now for all we know." The two shared a laugh. Of course, they didn't know the FULL story, about the tragic events that had started a week ago. "So who else can we visit?"
"There's Geoff and Bridgette, Sadie, Noah, Izzy and Owen, and Duncan from what I remember." She left out the recent arrival of DJ and Ezekiel, but she didn't know they were in LA. Trent was okay with Duncan (the two forgave each other in the third season of TD, Total Drama the Musical), and Gwen and Trent knew Sadie and Noah much better than they did in the past.
"They all got involved in crime, right?"
"Not Duncan and not Bridgette. He ended up becoming a counselor for juvenile kids, and she ended up running her own line of surfing gear."
"Imagine that: the delinquent ended up helping other delinquents as a career."
"But all the rest got involved in crime."
"You ever think it was because of…the incident?"
"From time to time. But I don't like to think about it." The couple finished packing the tour bus and got on it so they could go back to the hotel to pack.
Courtney stopped having so many dreams and flashbacks, but they didn't disappear. She had become extremely self-aware and found out Lindsay's name, and also had flashbacks of a certain short haired thin woman: Katie. After she was kidnapped eight years ago, she was taken to the New York branch, and then transferred to the Las Vegas branch. Courtney learned that the gorgeous man's name was Justin, and that he was someone to stay away from due to his evil deceit (she had flashbacks about his evil acts in Total Drama Action). Bridgette felt somehow drawn to Courtney, and the two became good friends, doing everything together. Secretly, Courtney attempted to educate Bridgette about who she was, but it didn't stick in Bridgette's mind. Courtney sighed after another long night of teaching.
"Please Bridgette, please…"
"I don't get it."
"Let's go." I will not give up on her. I can't. She's my friend. They both left to their beds at the curfew time, and Courtney went to sleep with sadness on her face.
"Duncan?" Owen asked over the phone. It was Duncan's wake-up call that morning, around 10 AM.
"Yeah Owen? I haven't heard from you in a few days, did you get any new info yet?"
"You should come to Izzy and I. How about we meet at Café Noir?"
"Isn't that on Wilcox? The same place as the LAPD?" Duncan raised an eyebrow—or the side of his brow.
"Yeah, but we're not going there. Izzy and I don't like to associate ourselves with police; that's why we're PRIVATE investigators. But Café Noir has really good coffee, and I can't go too long without it."
"Fine. When should I be there?"
"As soon as possible. Izzy and I are on our way out of the office now. We're just getting a few things." Duncan was highly skeptical of everything Owen was telling him, but he believed him. After all, Owen couldn't lie to save his ass—at least, that's what Duncan thought.
"See you then." Duncan hung up.
"C'mon Izzy, let's go." The couple grabbed their coats and got into their beat-up, dingy, and green Toyota Avalon. Izzy immediately started using her Bluetooth earpiece.
"Geoff, thank goodness. All right, Duncan took the bait. He's coming, and he's coming soon. We're planning to meet at Café Noir, so bring the others along. If Duncan tries to make a break for it, we'll hold him down. Snag a table when you get there, okay? We're almost there. Bye!" Izzy hung up. She had been talking for the majority of the car ride, so she only waited in silence for a few more minutes before they parked on the side of the road and went inside the café. Geoff, Noah, Sadie, DJ, and Ezekiel were already waiting for them.
"Izzy! Owen! Sit at the other table." Geoff pointed to a table right next to him. "You couldn't have picked a diner? At least there are table booths to better conceal our identities there."
"It's 10 AM. We get our coffee at this time, so we're not breaking tradition anytime soon." Owen remarked.
"Okay, Ezekiel and I are going to be in separate places in the room, and Sadie and Noah are going to pose as a couple drinking coffees, of course, somewhere near you. Geoff will be in the line to get coffee, so we have eyes and ears everywhere. Start relaxing and acting natural." DJ and Ezekiel left them, Geoff got in line to get coffee, Sadie and Noah left to another table within earshot of Izzy and Owen, and that left Izzy and Owen, who sat down at their table. Duncan walked in a minute later. Izzy wildly waved to him when she saw him enter. He immediately went to sit down at the table.
"Ah fuck! I need my coffee!" Owen suddenly yelled. "Do you guys want any?"
"I'll have a black coffee." Duncan muttered.
"Oh, me too!" Izzy jumped up out of her seat. "Oh shit! I forgot the files! Duncan, so sorry, I'll be right back!" And in a flash, Izzy was out the door. Noah and Sadie looked at each other, as did DJ and Ezekiel, and all of them didn't know what was going on. However, Geoff did because Owen started to tell him the plan that he and Izzy concocted right before Duncan walked in.
"We faked Duncan out. At this point, while Izzy is outside getting her "files", go get the others and talk to Duncan. If he makes a break for it, he'll be stopped by Izzy."
"Clever! But yeah, I'll get them." Geoff walked out of the line and gathered the others, who then approached Duncan's table.
"Can I help you?" Duncan looked up at them and sneered.
"FBI, RCMP. You'll need to come with us." DJ coldly issued. Duncan's eyes widened, and as suspected, he ran for the door. However, Izzy had watched the whole thing, and as Duncan was about to step outside, Izzy stopped him.
"I'm sorry." Izzy stepped out of the way, and DJ made sure to quietly handcuff Duncan, just in case he tried to escape again. They left to the LAPD crime lab, and they were back in Conference Room 2B.
"Who the hell are you two?" Duncan spat at DJ and Ezekiel. They had showed him into the room, leaving Geoff, Sadie, Noah, Owen, and Izzy outside.
"FBI Agent Douglas Jones and RCMP Ezekiel Parker." DJ coldly explained again.
"Huh. DJ and Home-school. Haven't heard from you two in a while. So you became FBI and RCMP agents?"
"Yeah, they did." Geoff answered for DJ as he walked in with Owen, Izzy, Sadie, and Noah in tow. "Sorry, but we need you for interrogation."
"So you all betrayed me. Geoff, Izzy, and Owen. You could've just asked in the first place and I would've come. You didn't need to bring FBI and RCMP agents. So what do you want?"
"We didn't ask for them. They came." Noah briefly explained.
"And why is that?"
"BECAUSE COURTNEY ISN'T REALLY DEAD!" Sadie suddenly yelled. "Izzy, don't try to say that she's been dead since 2012, because she isn't. Duncan, Courtney has been kidnapped. We don't know who did it or why or where she went; all we know is that she's gone."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would've helped."
"We're forgetting something here: we can't go public with this. Technically, Courtney doesn't exist." Noah added. EVERYONE looked at him.
"What do you mean she doesn't exist?" Sadie asked him.
"I did a background check on Courtney, and I got nothing. When I pulled up Dana's profile, there was no record of her being on TD—any of the seasons."
"What's going on here?" Ezekiel asked everyone. "We're missing something. Courtney dies in an accident, she disappears, no record of her is found, she resurfaces as someone else, this person becomes someone else in the WPP, and then she shows up dead, only for us to find out that the body is a clone and that she's been kidnapped."
"I—I need to go. Can we meet up again tomorrow?" DJ asked.
"Sure, but could you get the handcuffs off me first?" Duncan asked. DJ found a small key in his suit pocket and freed Duncan. Duncan rubbed his sore wrists.
"Maybe we should meet at someone's house." DJ asked.
"Not mine." Duncan immediately responded.
"Not ours either." Izzy replied, referring to Owen.
"I don't think a hotel suite is the best place to meet." Ezekiel commented.
"Geoff, you own a nice place. You think we could swing by there at 7 PM tomorrow?" Duncan commented.
"Uh…sure, Duncan. I guess I could use the company since Bridge has been kidnapped and all…"
"Wait. Bridgette's been kidnapped?" DJ asked Geoff. He nodded. "I'm going. Call me if something comes up." DJ left the group in the conference room.
"Tell me how we're going to contain this Harold!" Heather shoved him a case file before leaving the room. He opened the case file, sat on one of the black leather sofas, and started reading. First page: Tyler Shaw. Crap.
A/N: So how'd you like this one? There's more action in the next one, don't worry. So more trivia:
Cafe Noir is made up, but the street name isn't. There's an actual street in LA called Wilcox Avenue. At least, that's what I read on the internet.
The secret operation that Geoff and Co. pulled on Duncan would probably NEVER happen in real life.
Did you notice that so many characters are OOC? That's because time has passed, and it must be reflected! The Incident did things...along with a ton of other tradgedies that will emerge later.
Couples so far: DuncanxCourtney, GwenxTrent, GeoffxBridgette, KatiexNoah, SadiexDJ, BethxCody, more to come
Songs that should be in your mind (because they were in mine!): "What You Don't Know"-Jonatha Brooke (this is the theme to Dollhouse), "U+UR Hand"-P!nk, "Broken"-Lifehouse (radio and original verisons)
If you can guess who The Sir is, every single thing in the chapter will make sense. If you have a remote idea of what "the incident" could be, review! I'd love to see what you think! The RUNDOWN! Why did DJ suddenly leave? What does Tyler have to do with the Twilight Mall? Will Courtney realize where she is and try to break free? How are Gwen and Trent going to work their way into this fanfic? How's Chris doing right now? Will Duncan clash with Geoff and Company? All that and more, NEXT!!! Review please!