Invincible

Title: Invincible
Chapter 3: Unexpected Places
Rating: R
Pairing: William Beckett/Damian Kulash.
Bands: The Academy Is... and OK Go. Crossover.
Warnings: Rape and mature themes.
Disclaimer: The following story is fiction. All fiction, all a product of my own imagination. I do not own William Beckett or Damian Kulash, but if they were really a couple, I'd love to have a hidden camera in their bedroom. I don't own any of the other members of The Academy Is..., either. Just in case it didn't come through loud and clear the first time, THIS IS FAKE. All fake, all the time. Never happened, not true, no film at 11.


Will looked around him cautiously as he walked into the park, wondering if he'd gone on some kind of wild-goose chase that was going to lead him nowhere. The voice over the phone had told him to be here at this time, close to dusk, when there was less chance of anybody being around. This place gave him the creeps when it was empty like this.

But what had he expected, anyway? For the men who'd kidnapped Damian to bring his boyfriend to him in broad daylight, where people could see them? He wasn't that stupid. He'd known this was going to be dangerous; he'd been prepared for it. Well, as prepared as he could be.

A shiver went through his thin body as he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the back of the park, the old abandoned playground that hardly anybody ever went to any more. It was a perfect place to exchange himself for Damian, Will told himself bitterly, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch. Nobody would see what was going on, as well as that part of the park was hidden behind a screen of trees and shrubs.

What would they do to him once they had him? He didn't want to think about it, he told himself fiercely, balling his small, delicate hands into fists in his pockets, trying to control their trembling. It was enough that Damian would be safe. It didn't matter what they did to him. At least Damian would be all right.

His bandmates -- and his family -- would have said differently, if they'd known what he was doing. He hadn't told anybody where he was going, not even bringing his cell phone with him. He'd left his apartment locked, knowing that if his bandmates got worried about him, Mike would be able to get in. He had a spare key, but he wouldn't use it unless they couldn't get hold of him on the phone for a while and Mike got worried.

By then, it would be too late for them to stop him. It might even be days before they knew what had happened. There was no telling what could happen to him by then ....

Will bit his lip, trying to keep himself from thinking about what could happen. That voice had said he would see Damian. That was all that mattered to him now; just the chance to see his boyfriend, to know that Damian was still alive, to know that he'd be found and taken care of. He was trying not to think beyond the moment of that reunion.

He winced as he stumbled over a part of the sidewalk that had been eroded, leaving a hole in the smoothness of the pavement. He still ached all over from what had been done to him on that horrific night in his apartment, the night that Damian had been taken; he seemed to feel every jolt to his body more acutely than he ever had before.

This was where they'd said to meet them -- and there was nothing in sight. Will could feel his heart start to pound against his ribs, panic rising in his throat in a choking cloud. What if they didn't show up? What if Damian was dead .... what if they'd dumped his body somewhere and that phone call yesterday had just been to tease him, to be cruel ....

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed and taking a deep breath, stopping in his tracks to try and recover his composure. No. Damian couldn't be dead. He'd feel it if his boyfriend wasn't part of this world any more, he was sure of it. He and Damian had a connection, a bond that went way beyond just sex. Even beyond love.

.... Wait. There. Behind the screen of trees that hid the carousel from public view. A van had pulled up into the shade. Could that be them? Will gulped, his feet seeming as if they were rooted to the spot. This was it, then. These were the people who had Damian. The people who wanted him.

Well, they'd have him. It was only a matter of how long it took him to walk over there. If he could do it, considering that he felt frozen, unable to move a muscle.

With an effort, he shook his long chestnut hair back over his shoulders, starting to walk slowly in the direction of the trees. One step. Two. The more steps he took, the easier it was to move. Only a few dozen more, and he'd be there, beside the carousel.

Ten. Twelve. Each step was in rhythm with the pounding of his heart.

Will squinted, raising a hand to shade his eyes. What the hell was that on the carousel? It looked like .... a bag? A pile of clothes somebody had left there?

No. Wait.

His heart nearly stopped in his chest, a short, sharp gasp coming from his lungs.

Bags and clothes didn't have tawny gold hair.

Damian. Damian.

He was running, skidding, picking himself up and propelling himself forward again. Falling onto his knees by the side of the carousel where Damian's slim body was huddled.

Will took Damian's face between his hands, frantically pressing kisses to Damian's lips, his cheeks, his forehead, anywhere he could reach. He didn't realize that he was almost whimpering with relief; Damian was alive. He was here. Will could touch him, kiss him, hold him.

"Will?" Damian's voice was cracked, broken, almost a sob. "What .... what are you doing here?"

"Shhh, it's okay," Will murmured, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. He wasn't going to let go, not unless he was forcibly pried away. They'd have to use brute strength to tear him away from Damian this time. Let them try, he told himself, burying his face in Damian's hair.

Hands were on his shoulders, pulling him away from Damian. Will struggled, trying to hold on to his boyfriend even as he was tugged to his feet, striking out with his small fists against the hands tearing him from the safety and security of holding his lover.

A hand clamped over his mouth; his arms were pulled behind his back, and he could feel rough rope being wrapped around his wrists to secure them. He was half-pushed, half-dragged towards the van, Damian's soft cry of protest ringing in his ears.

"This was the bargain, William." That voice, soft and menacing in his ear, the hand over his mouth tightening as his captor spoke. "You for him. A fair trade, I believe."

Will struggled to speak, to free his mouth from that iron grip. It was impossible; he was held too tightly to even turn his head. He couldn't look at Damian, couldn't even see him out of the corner of his eye. Kicking and struggling, he was pushed into the back of the van, the doors slamming shut and the engine revving.

The slim figure running down the path to the carousel fell to his knees as the van pulled away, dropping the cell phone he was carrying, his scream ringing out in the silence of the park.

"No!"

Mike screamed again, doubling over and clutching his stomach. He was too late. They had Will. He hadn't made it there in time.

His fault. All his fault. Just five minutes earlier .... he'd have been there. He could have done something.

Now, all any of them could do was wait.