betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine, over the weekend

"Why did you leave?!" Nathan demanded. He got a hand on Duke's arm and flung him bodily into the wall. "Why did you come back?!"

Well. How was that for karma?

Whatever had gotten into Nathan, it had given him a hell of a boost in the strength department. Duke hit the wall like he'd been hit by Nathan's truck, his head rebounding against the metal, making him see stars.

By the time his sight cleared again, Nathan's hands were wrapped around his neck.

Apparently Nathan hadn't managed to cut himself after all. If he had, Duke might've stood a chance.

Octavia had been considering sending Lucifer another message when she'd heard a crashing sound coming from above, followed by faint yelling. She'd been on her feet in an instant, and now she came barreling out onto the deck.

She wasn't surprised it was Nathan. Of course it was Nathan, but it didn't really matter because the only thing that did were the hands around Duke's neck.

As she rushed them, she went to grab the nearest convenient object - a board that had come loose from one of the crates - fully intending to whack Nathan in the back of the head with it.

Nathan didn't notice. He was full of crazy rage and trouble-fueled strength, and a board to the head wasn't enough to even wobble him.

Duke's eyes and mouth went wide as he struggled to breathe in Nathan's grip.

There were many, many reasons Octavia had not missed Nathan, and not being able to get through to someone who didn't respond to pain because he didn't feel anything was definitely one of them.

The board fell apart like it was nothing.

But maybe kicking him in the back of the knee while screaming "Get your hands off him!" would do something? Even if that something was only drawing his focus to her instead.

"You," Nathan growled. "Why are you here? Duke finally found someone as useless as he is?!"

Duke swung blindly at that, fingers poised to rake across Nathan's cheeks. Luckily for all of them, before he could accidentally make Nathan bleed, there was the pop of a taser and Nathan jerked stiffly before collapsing into Duke.

Audrey lowered her taser and hurried forward.

"Sorry I had to do that, Nathan. Are you okay?"

Duke dropped Nathan and sagged against the wall. "Yeah, I'm fine." He wasn't, but he wasn't about to tell an FBI agent that his head was spinning and there were spots slowly clearing from his vision.

Yeah, Octavia was definitely looking him over pretty closely, at that. It also kept her from indulging the urge to kick Nathan in the ribs. Which was probably a good thing.

After she'd determined he didn't have any serious visible injuries, at least, she turned towards Audrey and snapped, "What the fuck was that?"

Duke rubbed the back of his head and winced faintly. "That was . . . more than usual," he agreed.

"Nothing," Nathan muttered into the deck where he lay. "Felt nothing."

"I need you two to keep him here," Audrey said.

"Uh, no," Duke said.

"He tried to kill Duke," Octavia agreed in a snarl.

And don't think she didn't notice the lack of an actual answer, either, Audrey!

"It's not his fault." Audrey watched as Nathan passed out on the deck, then stood. "He's sick."

"He's been sick," Duke said. "Right now he's homicidal."

"It's not his fault," Audrey said again. "Something -- something just happened to him."

"Is he contagious?" Duke asked, eyeing Nathan's red and swollen face. Audrey glared at him. "I'm just asking!"

"What happened to him?"

Octavia really missed Wonkru, all of a sudden. At least they'd been obligated to give her straight answers, most of the time.

Yeah, Audrey wasn't at all impressed with Octavia's yelling. She shot Octavia an assessing look, hesitating.

"This is a trouble, isn't it," Duke said. "Whatever was going on at the Freddy got him, too. We can't be crazy right now, Audrey!"

"I don't know if he's contagious," Audrey said with a sigh. "But I do know someone who is. Which is why I have to go find her, which I can't do dragging Nathan around." She looked between the two of them. "Nathan's talked a lot about you two. This is where you both prove him wrong, right?"

Octavia didn't even have anything to say to that.

She was just making an extremely unimpressed face. At least by her own standards.

Yeah, Duke couldn't really argue with that, either. He barely knew Audrey, but Audrey looked like Lucy, and every instinct in him was screaming at him to help her out.

There was just one problem with that.

"This is a bad idea, Audrey," he hissed, voice low.

"Tie him up," Audrey suggested. "He's not going to hurt you again."

"I'm not worried about him hurting me."

"Doesn't he have an entire precinct of friends aside from you, anyway?" Octavia asked, pointedly. "Why aren't they coming to get him? How is this supposed to be our problem?"

She had no need to prove anyone anything. Not here.

"He's already here," Audrey said, giving Octavia a sharp look. "And you two apparently know enough about the troubles to know that this isn't his fault."

"Call Dwight!" Duke suggested. "He's built like a brick wall, let him wrangle the superstrength with a side of crazy!"

". . . Who's Dwight?"

Duke threw his hands in the air. "Why can't anyone tell anyone anything around here?!"

Octavia wasn't particularly concerned with whose fault it was. She just didn't like Nathan.

Not that she was saying that out loud.

"Makes you miss Fandom, doesn't it."

"Yeah," Duke said on a sigh. "Yeah, it really does."

"Are we good?" Audrey asked, already heading for the dock again. "The trouble should wear off . . . eventually. Dr. Lucassi was back to normal after maybe an hour. I've gotta go."

Duke looked down at Nathan with a groan. "You owe me, Parker."

"Yup!" Audrey called back to him.

"For this and for saving your life!"

"You're the best, Duke!"

And goddammit, if hearing that didn't make part of Duke's poor, neglected heart sing.

He shut his eyes and rubbed his nose. "Right. I'll go get some chain."

"I'll watch him," Octavia rasped.

She did not sound like she approved of how this had gone, nope.

Nathan didn't stir until Duke was just finishing chaining him to one of the posts on the dock. He immediately flung himself into jerking against the chains, vocally straining all the while.

"This is bizarre," Duke said. "He's going to hurt himself."

"Will not," Nathan muttered. "Can't feel it."

"Well aren't you just special, Nate."

Octavia had backed off, gone to sit on one of the crates. She didn't feel like being very involved, but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep watch.

In case anything happened.

Duke, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes off Nathan. It was surreal, seeing the man chained down and completely out of his mind like that. Even knowing how terrible the troubles could be, his vague memories and minor run-ins so far couldn't prepare him for -- this. This drooling, groaning, flushed and sweaty mess. This total breakdown in everything that made Nathan human.

"Nothing hurts you, does it, Nathan. Even when you try."

"At least I'm not a parasite," Nathan shot back, wild grin on his face. "Like you." He started laughing, loud and full-throated, like he couldn't stop.

Duke laughed along, humoring him. "That's a good one."

Nathan flung himself against the chains again, panting. "Just using people. . . ." He laughed, bouncing in place. "Like you always do. Plan on using Audrey, too?"

Duke took a deep breath through his nose, reminding himself not to rise to Nathan's level.

Nathan kept laughing. "Of course you are. Of course you are, that's what you do! You and your little whore --"

He cut off when Duke's fist collided with his face.

Over her years in the bunker, Octavia had learned to pack away her feelings when she needed to. It had allowed her to stay impassive when she'd watched her people slaughter each other down in the fighting pits, and it allowed her to stay that way now as she watched Nathan struggle in his chains. She focused on observing, waiting to see whether she'd need to do anything.

Otherwise, her heart would have been aching for Duke.

Nathan's little jab at her, however, would probably not have gotten to her even if she hadn't been keeping a tight rein on her emotions. She'd been called much worse, by people who mattered much more.

But that didn't mean seeing the punch happen wasn't satisfying.

Nathan was just so punchable!

The trouble being, Nathan didn't even feel it. That and that punching a guy in the face was a great way to get their blood on you.

Nathan spit and laughed. "Can't hurt me, remember?"

Duke lurched to his feet, eyes glued to his hand and the specks of blood absorbing into his skin. He spun, not wanting Nathan to see. Not wanting to see Nathan, tied down and helpless and so goddamn infuriating, just asking to be ended.

Nathan didn't have any family. Other than the Chief, who'd never shown any signs of his trouble. Killing him wouldn't do anything but put blood on Duke's hands, metaphorically and literally. Duke grit his teeth and wrapped his arms around himself as he staggered down the dock.

Maybe throwing himself into the water would help keep this damn trouble under control.

The thing about the trick of Octavia boxing up her feelings and pushing them aside was that it only worked until something came along that was too strong and busted right on through anyway.

And seeing Duke react like that, well, it was something she recognized.

She was on her feet instantly, but didn't move. Just -- watched, but now with a heavy weight inside her, a squirming thing of worry.

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