Chapter Text
Mon-El’s transmission had come in late at night. He and Imra hadn’t quite figured out how to match the time appropriately yet. One minute Kara had been asleep in her bed, and the next a very loud hologram had been shouting above her chest, hovering in mid-air.
“Kara? Kara, are you there? It’s an emergency!”
“Whozzit?” Kara jolted upright to a bleary half-readiness. “M’up. Whassamatter?”
Mon-El’s blurry, compressed image was floating directly above her chest. He waved. “Oh, good. You’re awake. We have important news. You need to—“
“Mon-El?” She yawned. “What’re you doing in my bedroom?”
Imra leaned patiently around her mate’s shoulder. “Kara? Hi. It’s just a hologram projection. We’re still in our universe. Sorry it’s so late.”
“Oh. Hi Imra.” Kara blinked, and started to come back to awareness. “S’okay. I’m up. What’s going on?”
“It’s my mother.” Mon-El’s eyes were harried. He ran a hand haphazardly through his hair, raking it up at odd angles. “She won’t listen. She’s still trying to rebuild New Daxam, and she’s been chasing us across the galaxy for months now.”
“She wants Mon-El to come home and mate a fertile omega. Rebuild the royal population.” Imra rolled her pretty eyes. “A beta commoner like me isn’t good enough, apparently.”
“You’re more than enough.” Mon-El assured her, with a quick look and a squeeze of her hand on his shoulder. “But it’s more than just her prejudices, now. She’s taken to the old customs again.”
“The ‘old customs’ like slavery?” Kara sat up straighter in bed, adjusting the neck of her NCU Journalism shirt. “Oh crap.”
“Crap indeed.” Mon-El nodded, face desperate and wan. “If she can’t have me back, I’m afraid she’ll enslave the whole galaxy. She’s gone completely insane this time.”
“As opposed to before, when she was just a little insane?” Kara quipped, but she was already nodding. “Tell me what I can do to help.”
“There’s a big auction coming up. A week-long event.” Imra explained. “It’s to be held on Rhea’s personal space station—the one she’s been calling New Daxam. Hundreds of omegas have already been rounded up from countless worlds. They’ll be sold to buyers across the galaxy and Rhea will line her pockets while making valuable alliances.”
“Gross.” Kara made a face. “Didn’t anyone ever tell her about consensual sex?”
Imra laughed. “Rhea’d consider that deviant activity. But the auction is our chance—the space station is technically beyond the laws of the alien planet coalition, but New Daxam’s orbit will take it within Earth’s jurisdiction on the final night of the sale. Infiltrating her inner circle and catching her before she can escape with the money or the slaves...that’s the goal.”
“Is that all?” Kara was surprised. “Shouldn’t be too hard. J’onn can infiltrate scarier places in his sleep.”
Mon-El and Imra exchanged a worried glance. “There’s a catch—in order to be invited, you have to be an alpha from a noble house.” Mon-El explained. “ Which means you have to go. Alone.”
“But Rhea hates me.” Kara blinked. “She’d throw me out on sight.”
“You’d be surprised. ” Imra’s brow arched. “Rhea doesn’t care about old grudges anymore—it’s all about swelling her numbers back to what they were. She’s inviting even Daxam’s old enemies. Any alpha with a pulse and a cock able to impregnate is considered for New Daxam.”
Kara blushed, just a little. She hated being reminded of her status on the best of circumstances, and this was turning more embarrassing by the second. Especially given her fraught past with Mon-El, and Imra being right there.
“I know it’s awkward, Kara.” Mon-El’s face was contorted in empathy. “And believe me, if I could do it, I would. But if you can capture my mother, you’ll stop her from profiting off of the enormous suffering of omegas.”
“Then it’s worth a little awkwardness. If you say she’ll accept me, I’m in.” Kara straightened her shoulders. “Don’t worry, Mon-El. I won’t let her get away with this. And once she’s caught, you two will finally be safe.”
“That’s the hope, anyway.” Imra gave a short laugh. “ But even if not, keeping those omegas from being sold is enough for me. We’ve been powerless to stop her, and watching her get taken down by Supergirl will be...well, very satisfying.”
“I can do that.” Kara promised, and received two very sincere smiles in return before the hologram winked out of existence.
***
Alex wasn’t enthusiastic about Kara’s news, but, distressingly, Lena was.
“I have been dying to get back near Daxamite tech for ages.” Lena gushed, eyes glowing. “And a little revenge on Rhea for what she put me through? All the better.”
“Rhea wanted your genetics for Daxam.” Alex had her arms crossed in the corner, and was frowning more than usual. “She’d jump at the chance to have you in her clutches. Same for you, Kara.”
“She won’t notice me.” Lena waved a hand. “There will be dozens of slaves there for me to blend in with. I can play the part of the subservient omega long enough to collect what data I need, and be gone before she ever notices. And Kara needs backup, you said it yourself.”
“I said she needed my backup.” Alex argued, solidly. “You’d be putting yourself at huge risk, Lena. Both of you. We can’t take chances like that.”
“She’s half right.” Kara interjected. “It’s too dangerous, Lena. I should go alone.”
The omega shot her a ferocious look. “Have you forgotten this whole sordid affair is being held in a space station far from Earth’s yellow sun? You’ll be just as powerless as I am—but without the benefit of my degree in theoretical physics.”
Kara winced. She didn’t really have a good rebuttal other than ‘but I’m an alpha’ and that was too shameful to say out loud. She knew better than that. She’d had a lot of status and gender studies classes at NCU. But, still, the idea of Lena near Rhea….it made her stomach do unhappy flips and her body wanted to tense in instinctive defensiveness. She shifted from side to side.
“Lena, no one’s doubting your capabilities, but this is a sex slave auction.” Alex reminded her, none too gently. “You’re an omega. Do you want me to spell it out?”
Lena rolled her eyes. The line of her jaw was sharp and determined. “Don’t be crass, of course I know that. But we don’t know where the omegas are being held, how they’re kept, where the nearest possible escape routes are.” She ticked her points off on her fingers, patiently. “I can provide answers to all of those questions.”
“Unless you’re caught and cut off from the comm.” Alex countered, equally dogged. The air was starting to scent with her ire. “You haven’t thought this through.”
Lena was never one to back down to an alpha’s challenging scent, this was a constant. Her eyes flashed. “Where’s that information about the auction from Mon-El? I want to read it again.”
“Here.” Kara pointed to a monitor. “He forwarded me everything they have on the alpha invites, but I don’t—“
“Ha!” Lena pointed a triumphant finger. “Look, it says right here: Alphas are encouraged to bring their current or existing claimed omegas, provided they bear a mark and a collar to identify them from auctionable subjects. ’” She turned back to the Danvers alphas, arms folded. “I can go as Kara’s omega.”
Kara’s stomach did a strange looping thing. She swallowed. “But it says marked , Lena. Like—“
“I bruise easily.” Lena waved a hand idly. “If you don’t mind giving me a quick hickey and some scenting, I can sustain an imprint for days.”
A quick hickey. Kara’s stomach was now on a roller coaster ride, and she couldn’t help the way her heartbeat pulsed heavily in her cock, twitching in her pants. She must be close to rut, thinking of Lena in such base omega terms. Her body liked that idea—but her brain jumped in, reminding her that Lena was her friend. Well. Was.
Now she didn’t quite know.
It was hard to define the mood between them lately. Sure, it was good to have everything out in the open and good to be able to work together again, but….things weren’t back to normal. They saw each other briefly at the DEO, and that was it. No brunches, no Game Nights, no breakfasts at Noonan’s. She didn’t really talk to Lena anymore. It was just...this. Work friends now, she guessed. Hollow and strange.
It wasn’t the kind of casual closeness where she could imagine putting her lips to Lena’s throat and leaving an imprint deep enough to fool a deviant slave-owning dictator.
Frankly, she wasn’t sure they’d ever been that close. And the idea was….making her feel funny. Sweaty. Kind of tense in her stomach.
“No.” Kara said abruptly, probably too loud. She cleared her throat when Lena looked at her, brows raised. “Lena, this is Rhea we’re talking about. She’d never buy it.”
“If we sold it well enough—“ Lena’s eyes had that hard, glittering edge that said she was annoyed, but still rational.
“No.” Kara said again, more firmly. Alex was looking at her, curiously, but she ignored it, and crossed her arms. Her scent was pumping, and she knew she should dial it back, maybe act a little more deferential to secure Lena’s understanding, or at least be more polite—but her alpha blood was up and thumping in her ears. “You’re not listening to me. I said no. This is my mission.”
“Oh, I see how it is. Your mission.” Lena’s laugh was high and sharply incredulous. From the opposite corner, Alex made a soft noise in the omega’s direction but she waved it away. “You’re compromised. Taking this personally because of how Rhea treated your boyfriend who was also a slave owner—“
“He’s married.” Kara reminded the omega, none-too-patiently. The temperature in the room seemed to have risen at least five degrees and she felt like a rubber band was about to snap in her skull. “And this isn’t about Mon-El—-“
“It is! And you’re too stubborn to see it!”
“Okay.” Alex whistled a quick note, drawing eyes to her. “Yeah, cool heads, please. Let’s not get into personal attacks, you guys. Kara, Lena does have a point—she could help a lot.” At Kara’s incensed look, her sister shrugs neutrally. “I’m just saying.”
“You want to send her in there?” Kara couldn’t believe what she was hearing, even as Alex put her hands up, flashing alpha appeasement signals. “Are you both crazy? Sure, walk right into the hands of a breeding-obsessed slave master who buys and sells omegas.”
She rounded on Lena, scent riled up and hackles raised. “Do you want to be gift-wrapped first? Or should we just serve you up on a silver platter?”
Lena opened her mouth once. Raised a finger at Kara. Then snapped her jaw shut. She inhaled deeply, collected her purse, and stormed out of the lab, heels clicking mercilessly down the hall as she went.
“Lena, wait!” Alex called after her, dropping her hands in frustration. “Way to go, Kara. Omegas love being reminded of being fetished, right?”
“Let her go.” Kara’s hackles were still up, and her blood was still hot, so it was easy to ignore the wince of hurt at the way Lena had looked at her. So coldly, as if Kara didn’t know her at all. And maybe she didn’t. “She’d be in serious danger on this mission. I don’t know why you were even encouraging her.”
“The idea of undercover partners wasn’t terrible.” Alex defended, but sighed. “She’s trying to reach out to you, Kar.”
“I know.” And then, Kara’s gut did twist in guilt. She put it aside, shaking her head. “But Rhea’s too smart for that. Lena’s blinded by her desire for revenge. She can’t see it.” She sighed, and rubbed her temple. “I’ll talk to her. Later. Once this is all cleared up. We just...it’s too hard right now.”
Alex nodded sympathetically. “I understand.” The older alpha rolled her shoulders. “We should probably get working on a plan without her, then.”
“Yeah.” Kara looked off into the hall where the sound of Lena’s heels had disappeared. “Yeah, let’s….let’s do that.”
***
This was a mistake. Kara knew it as soon as she stepped out of the transporter. But it was too late to back out now.
The interior of New Daxam was warm, glowing with red and orange lowlights in recessed corners. It looked more like a grand banquet hall than a space station. There were little alcove seats everywhere, tables arrayed around small stages, and a larger stage, almost auditorium-like, down a set of stairs in the far distance. And there were people. People everywhere, of all types. Aliens, humans, alphas, omegas.
The only difference between this and any other gala event she’d been to was the fact that none of the omegas seemed to be wearing very much clothing. Or any clothing, in many cases. And most of them were up on the stages, on display. Or tied to poles or bent into stock-like contraptions, or chained in lines along the wall. She didn’t know where to look, and when her blushing eyes roamed away from the line of naked alien and human bodies, she found where the crowd was watching.
As Kara looked on, a male alpha stepped up behind a female omega bent over, tied to a table above the onlooking crowd of alphas. He pulled a large metal plug out of her helpless ass, and slapped her sharply when she cried out, muffled into the leather gag. The plug thumped to the floor of the stage, and the alpha entered the omega’s ass with a single brutal lunge, ignoring her sharp noise of pain. He grunted as he began to fuck her in savage thrusts, and the crowd broke into polite applause.
The smell of sex and fear and dominant, overpowering alpha musk was thick in the air like a fog.
Kara stiffened in her three-piece suit, feeling wildly out of place. She didn’t know what she had pictured, but the brazenness of this was almost astonishing. Everywhere she looked, omegas were being used with the kind of casual ambiance that one might ascribe to silverware.
When she looked in another direction, she saw a cage with two huddled male omegas, both young and beautiful. They were holding each other closely, weeping, and a male alpha approached the cage with a key and a lash. As Kara watched, the alpha drove the two apart, ignoring their beseeching cries, and clipped a leash to the collar of one. He drove the other back into the cage, and handed the leash to a smirking female alpha, who seemed to revel in the way the omega sobbed and tore at his collar. Behind her, two other leashed slaves waited obediently, eyes downcast.
Kara’s stomach turned. Thank Rao Lena isn’t here. I made the right choice. Something low and angry in her body felt sharp at the idea of seeing Lena led by one of those little silver leashes, or cuffed to the wall, but there was also a strange, hot feeling in her brain about it. Like maybe she...wanted to see Lena like that.
But no, that was….that wasn’t how things were. They were just in a rough patch. Friends were like that. She didn’t want to see Lena punished or anything.
That would be wrong.
Kara spied a beta waiter with a tray of Daxamite spirits and took a swig from a hefty tumbler of something brown and eye-watering. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, lately. She needed to be on the alert for Rhea, not looking at omegas and thinking about Lena.
Kara wandered from end to end of the grand audience chamber, looking carefully. There were halls that led off from this room, presumably to guest rooms and facilities, but she didn’t dare try to sneak off to check for escape routes just yet. Alpha guards waited with blank mask-like faces at each entrance, armed with tech that would definitely hurt, even if it couldn’t kill. Without the full use of her powers, she couldn’t examine the rooms more closely anyway with her x-ray vision, so it was moot. She’d have to wait until there were less people around before making any reconnaissance trips.
Alphas passed her, sizing her up, moving inconspicuously away or displaying in front of their omegas. It was a sea of testosterone and flexing hormonal muscles. Kara couldn’t quite place it for a while, until she found herself baring her teeth unconsciously. The mood was cagey, restless. Kara found herself subconsciously looking back at the entrance to the transporter room, almost desperately. She felt oddly trapped.
Everything in her instincts told her to be wary, but a high, feminine moan of pleasure snagged at her senses and she turned, looking in a new direction. There was a pair of women on the table, an alpha and her omega, and the omega was splayed, tied with her arms above her head, forced over at the waist by a long metal bar. She was being flogged by the alpha, and the tendrils of leather slapping across her ass and thighs sounded almost paradoxically gentle—like waves hitting the side of a boat docked at shore. The omega was moaning, and her thighs were slick, her scent needy and submissive. She didn’t appear to be in pain, or if she was, perhaps it was the type she liked.
As Kara watched, lips dipping deeper into her glass, the alpha turned and made eye contact, with a slow, almost knowing smirk. Kara flushed and looked away, but the damage was done. Her palm felt sweaty around the glass, and she tightened her grip.
What am I doing here? Kara didn’t know, but she knew she was half-hard and it made her feel flushed, embarrassed by her body’s reaction to all of this. She was grateful that Lena wasn’t seeing that, either.
Why do I keep thinking about Lena?
“Lady Zor-El?” Kara turned at the familiar-and-yet-unfamiliar address, startling a bit. No one had called her by the name Zor-El in quite some time.
The beta servant waited patiently, hands behind his back. When she looked at him, he inclined his head. “You are expected in the inner chambers. Shall I inform Queen Rhea that you will be attending?”
Rhea knows I’m here. Kara felt the first cold finger of suspicion down her spine. So much for going under the radar for a few days. Wonder how fast she figured it out. “I—yes. I'll come.”
The beta nodded again, and opened a gloved hand, indicating the hallway. At his gesture, the alpha guards moved away from the entrance in clear invitation. It looked like if she was going to get a clearer picture of the ship’s layout, she would have to walk into this somewhat obvious trap, as the beta was now doing, looking behind him solicitously to see if Kara would come.
Swallowing down her screaming instincts, Kara followed.
***
“Kara.”
Queen Rhea greeted her warmly. Too warmly. Kara stiffened immediately when her former enemy bussed her on each cheek, lips brushing her skin. The other alpha smelled of a harsh, metallic perfume that made her lip want to wrinkle.
Kara didn’t trust anything about this setting. Two guards had closed the door behind her once the beta had waved her inside, and they remained guarding it, eyes impassive. There was a pair of chairs, and a holo viewing deck, but not much else. If Rhea planned an interrogation, this would be the place to do it. She steeled herself.
“Hello Rhea. I...I’m glad to see you doing so well.”
“You mean, out of the Phantom Zone?” Rhea’s laugh was a polite titter but her eyes were sharp as knives. Glittering. “I imagine that’s a surprise. But surely you know that palms can be greased anywhere. Even in your aunt’s domain.”
That made Kara’s jaw clench. Rhea’s alpha scent was heavy and unpleasant in her nose, almost circling her body. It was making her uneasy and slightly too foggy. “Whatever Astra allows is on her, not me. I’m here as an alpha, not an enemy.”
It was the speech she and Alex had rehearsed. Well, significantly stripped down, but still. Rhea’s eyes narrowed and she smiled. “Is that so? Didn’t think you had it in you. You Kryptonians and your creation matrix. So ineffably pure.”
Kara’s shrug was loose and calculatedly casual. “I’ve always considered my upbringing on Earth to be very formative. And alphas are the same everywhere, you should know that best of all.”
“True.” Rhea’s eyes remained unreadable. She motioned to the table. “Will you sit? Have some of my reserve Serokian wine.”
Kara sat.
“Truthfully, I’m delighted to see you chose to accept my invitation. I had figured you would join my son in his...objections to our distasteful display up here.”
“You figured correctly. At least at first.” Kara took a sip of her wine. The taste was silken, better than anything she’d had on Earth. Her tastebuds wanted to sigh about it. “But I’ve been having a rough time lately and my sister convinced me I deserve a break. I’m not here to buy or sell anyone, Rhea, I’m just here for a vacation.”
The well-rehearsed story seemed to glide smoothly enough off her tongue. Half truths mingled in with the cover lie. Alex had a knack for these things, but Kara usually struggled with on the spot stories, so she’d practiced relentlessly. Maybe even too much.
Luckily, it seemed to be going well in this case. Rhea looked like she was buying it.
The alpha Queen’s lip curled slightly with her smile and she leaned forward in her chair, fingers slipping on the stem of her wine glass. “Of course. Too noble to mingle amongst the common crowd, but not too noble to enjoy the show. I expected nothing less from you.”
“I’m not inclined to enforce laws outside my planetary jurisdiction, Rhea.” Kara’s voice had slipped a bit into her lower, more growling register. She corrected as swiftly as she could. “Don’t make me discuss politics on my vacation. Just let me ‘enjoy the show’, as you say.”
Rhea’s laugh was ringing. “Of course. Tell me, what interests you? I can offer you any array of choices, as you’ve seen downstairs.”
“I’m enjoying the variety for now.” Kara’s head was swimming a bit from her drink, so she set it down. The collar of her shirt was tight and she unbuttoned it, loosening her tie in the process. “That’s quite a bacchanalia downstairs. All slaves, I take it?”
“Some.” Rhea’s smile was still half a sneer, and her eyes sharp as diamonds. “Some came, as you said, for the show. Some brought their own pets to share.”
Kara didn’t like the use of the word ‘pet’ but she swirled her glass instead, ignoring the instinct to hackle. The uneasiness she had felt since entering this place was refusing to go away. “When’s the auction?”
“Soon.” Rhea’s eyes remain far-too-knowing for Kara’s liking. She’ll be on me like a hawk if I mention the slaves too much. Better dial it back. “See anything you like well enough to bid?”
Kara forced a laugh. “I told you, not here to buy and sell. But if I find an attractive enough partner, perhaps I can relax and enjoy myself a bit more.”
Kara had no intention of doing any such thing unless forced to for her cover, but she tried to inject alpha confidence into her words. Rhea was quick, too quick.
The older alpha tilted her head. “Not getting satisfied on Earth, I take it?”
Kara flushed. She couldn’t help it. Her last relationship of any import had been messing around with Rhea’s own son, and the only other person of any interest to her was—well, she didn’t often like to dwell on those thoughts.
Dangerous, green-eyed, expensive-smelling thoughts.
“No.” She said plainly, trying to keep the choke out her voice. “That’s why my sister decided I needed to go on vacation.”
“I would have assumed you would be mated to the little human whore that you chose instead of my son.” Rhea’s smile is still on her face but the tone underneath is dagger-sharp. “Is she not who you have been staring longingly at for all these years?”
Kara wanted to get up and throw Rhea across the room. She nearly did, and it was only through several years of training that she managed to marshal her strength. “Lena and I are just friends.”
“No wonder you’re so hard for justice, then.” Rhea laughed. “It’s the only outlet you have. I bet punching all those fellow aliens feels good, when it’s the only release that omega tease allows you to find.”
“She’s just my friend.” Kara repeats, smiling as non-severely as she can manage. She did not like Rhea throwing her conflicted feelings on the DEO in her face. Nor her very private, very personal feelings for Lena. Neither was for public consumption. “I can find my own release, thanks.”
“Oh, I bet you can.” Rhea’s eyes were glittering in a way she didn’t like. Too triumphant. “Still...I bet we can offer you a better solution.”
The Daxamite Queen waved her hand. Two alpha guards disappeared behind a door.
“What do you mean by that, Rhea?” Kara’s heart was sinking.
“You’ll see in a moment.” The older alpha took a deep draught of her wine. “I do find that the most charming about you, Kara. You enter my home under false pretenses, and you don’t even do me the respect of pretending to honor my title.”
Oh crap. Kara stiffened, every hair on her body growing tense. She gripped her glass. “I—“
“Don’t worry, I’m not mad.” Rhea waved a hand, almost merrily. Her eyes seemed to be laughing, dancing. “I’m even going to give you a gift.”
“A what?”
But now, her gut was sinking, and she could smell the air. A familiar scent. A scent she would recognize to the ends of any universe. And there were footsteps, and a dragging, scuffling sound. And a voice, raised high in fear and anger.
“Let go of me!”
Lena.
Kara stood up, glass tumbling to the floor to shatter in a red mess. She hardly noticed it staining the edges of her trousers. Her intention was to push Rhea aside and go for Lena’s voice in the corridor—but she forgot that her powers were on mute. A heavy hand hit her shoulder and she was forced down by an alpha guard, gun pointed at her chest.
Trapped. Damn it. I knew it.
They dragged Lena in between two alphas, not particularly gently. She was fighting and spitting, but her hands were bound at the wrists by dark cords and she was stumbling. The sight of her made Kara’s heart flip between two emotions—pride at how Lena wasn’t coming easily, and anguish that she had come here and allowed herself to get caught in the first place. Worse, probably to enhance her cover, the omega was dressed in a red gown that clung and highlighted every curve, and it made Kara keenly aware of how this roomful of alphas were all staring hungrily at Lena, as if she were something to be devoured. She was in real danger here, and Kara was helpless .
“Get off me, you—“
“Gag her, please.” Rhea waved a hand. “I don’t care to hear the mewlings of a traitorous omega slut.”
An alpha guard carelessly slapped a piece of tape over Lena’s mouth. Kara must’ve grunted in anger or made a move, because the hand on her shoulder tightened. Their eyes met, across the room, Lena’s large and lustrous with regret. Kara couldn’t say what else was contained there, but her heart contracted and expanded in her chest about six times, rapidly.
Rhea seemed delighted by Kara’s impotent, barely-contained shock and rage, her scent signaling victory. “Oh don’t act so shocked. Surely you knew this was coming. We found your little spy amongst the omegas almost as fast as we found you.”
Spy. I told her not to come. Should have known she’d try anyway. Damn it Lena, I can’t protect you—
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kara’s heart was in her throat, or maybe somewhere in her ears. “She wasn’t supposed to be here. This is my vacation.”
“Oh really?” Rhea clearly had never been buying it. Kara cursed herself internally with rapidfire intensity. “We tracked her transporter signal. She came right after you. Almost on your heels, as it were.”
“I don’t know why she’s here, but it doesn’t change my motivations.” Kara’s mouth was dry, and she knew she was arguing futilely. “I’m just here to relax and have fun.”
“‘I’m sure you are.” Rhea’s smile was like a tiger bearing teeth. “So let’s have some fun.”
The Queen motioned to the guards on either side of Lena. “Tie her up.”
***