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“Supergirl,” Brainy says, and Kara startles, turning and blocking the device she was working on. The man’s eyes narrow. “Why are you in my lab, and why are you… hiding something?” When he steps forward, Kara turns and completes the device with her super speed before slipping it into the pocket of her suit, and when she turns back Brainy is gaping at her. “How did you fit… whatever that was into your pocket?”
“We need to get to the usual conference room, right?” Kara asks, striding past her friend and heading for the others’ voices. “C’mon.”
Brainy huffs but follows her, and when they arrive Kara sees J’onn, Alex, Lena, and Nia already inside, Alex pacing while Lena reviews something on a tablet and J’onn already watching the doorway expectantly.
“Is everything alright, Kara?” J’onn asks, and Kara’s step stutters on her way to her seat. She sees him watching her as she sits and does her best to calm her emotions, knowing that while the Martian cannot sense her thoughts, he can tell when she’s… anxious.
“Everything’s fine,” Kara says, relaxing into her seat and ignoring when everyone looks at her suspiciously. She’s good at lying, just… not to people she trusts, and she does trust everyone in this room, just… not with this, not yet. She’s made the things she needs, and she has a plan. Kara gives them all the most convincing smile she can, and she scents… everyone’s annoyance.
Lena reaches over and pokes her cheek. “I understand you cannot always be entirely honest,” she says carefully, “but please refrain from outright lying, Kara.” Her voice is a bit growly, and her eyes hard and shiny, and Kara winces.
“Sorry,” she mutters. “I… will explain later.” Kara sighs when her sister growls. “That’s all I’m saying for now, to any of you.” She lifts her chin and adopts the cool, blank expression her mother so often wore in her judicator role, and she scents Lena’s surprise and Alex’s annoyance, her friend never having seen this side of her and her sister knowing full well she won’t say another word now.
Alex growls and places both hands on the table, glaring at Kara. “Fine,” her sister snarls. “Are you at least going to help us take down Non and the General?”
Kara’s hands twitch and she nearly growls, but her expression doesn’t change. “Of course,” she says evenly.
Brainy sits across from her, frowning. “And do we need to make a plan or do you already have one, using whatever you used my lab to create?”
Kara remains still even when she scents her sister’s alarm and everyone else’s surprise. “I can knock them all out now,” she says after a moment. “I’ll be luring the General away first and then taking on the rest of them.”
“Wait,” Lena says, holding a hand up. “Since when do you… make things?”
“Since when do you make things that don’t explode immediately?” Alex adds.
Kara’s mask falls and she scowls at her sister. “I can’t make things with this planet’s archaic technology. Brainy’s lab had the final pieces I needed.” She gives Lena a sheepish look then. “And, uh… I was playing with things in my father’s lab before I could talk. I was the… youngest person ever admitted to Krypton’s Science Guild.”
Lena blinks at her for a long moment. “Wasn’t that essentially… the equivalent of post-doctoral studies? On the most advanced planet we know of?”
Kara flushes and looks away. “I wasn’t born like my cousin,” she mutters. “I was made with the Codex, so it’s not really… that odd. Each generation was more perfect than the last, and my father was admitted to our guild as a teenager, so…”
J’onn clears his throat. “While I fully support you both getting to know one another better, we do need to focus on Myriad at the moment.” He steeples his fingers together and gives Kara an assessing look. “Given how you are acting, Supergirl, are you planning to take them all on yourself?”
Kara resists the urge to squirm and again adopts a neutral expression. “I need to fight the General alone, and I will be doing so without my comm or trackers on,” she says, ignoring everyone’s alarm at that. “I don’t particularly care if I have help or not for the others. They aren’t… actually a threat, once the General is taken care of.”
“Kara,” Alex says, glowering at her now. “Why do you need to fight that woman at all? From everything we’ve seen, she could kill you easily. You should focus on them and let us handle her.” With kryptonite, goes unsaid, but Kara hears it all the same.
She barely keeps her expression from shifting, though J’onn gives her an odd look, no doubt sensing her increased distress even as she manages to keep it contained enough that the omegas in the room don’t even scent it. “Again,” Kara says coolly, “I will be luring her away and fighting her alone. You can let me, or I can go rogue.”
Nobody likes that, and Brainy growls. “Can I at least see whatever device you are planning to use on them?”
Kara stiffens and quickly shakes her head, because if he has even a moment to examine it he’ll realize it’s powerful enough that there’s no need to lure anyone to another location at all— she could take out the whole group in one go. And if she does that, the DEO will swoop in, and they’ll take everyone to a black site even Kara can’t find. “You can look at it after.”
This time Lena growls, and when Kara looks to her best friend she barely keeps from wincing at the worry clear on her face and now easily scented. “Kara Zor-El Danvers,” Lena snarls, “I swear to God if you’re being reckless and get yourself hurt—“
“I won’t,” Kara blurts. Then she looks away. “Well, nothing sunbathing won’t fix.” She gives them all a look when she scents their annoyance. “Our Military Guild had to be strong enough to protect our planet and its Science Guild from everyone who wanted our technology,” Kara drawls. “And…” She pauses, nearly saying too much. “She achieved the rank of General,” Kara settles on. “I’m going to cheat as much as I can, but she’ll at least get a few hits in.”
Alex growls and, to Kara’s surprise, turns to Nia. “You’re being too quiet,” her sister declares. “What do you know about this, Nal?”
Nia looks from Alex to Kara and back and then shakes her head. “I know enough to keep my mouth shut,” she says. Nia turns to Kara then, frowning. “I also know you’ll be taking time off after this, so please call and conference us all in before making any… major life decisions,” Nia says carefully. “I… understand why you don’t want to tell us everything right now, but we’re your friends, Kara.”
Kara’s brow crinkles at that, but she slowly nods, and her friend quickly looks away.
“How exactly are you planning on luring the General out?” J’onn asks then, fingers tapping the table. “We don’t even know where they are.”
“I already found them,” Kara says, looking away when everyone gapes at her. “And they’ll…” She growls and very nearly dents the table. “She’ll follow me once I make myself known. They know I’m a threat, and she’s their strongest fighter.”
J’onn nods slowly. “Alright,” he says. “Tell us what you need then, Supergirl.”
Kara gives them a quick outline of what she wants the DEO to do, and when it’s essentially just being on standby and cleaning up Non and his cronies, she scents everyone’s annoyance. She glances at Brainy and Lena. “I’d rather not deal with disabling and dismantling Myriad, so you can do that as well if you’d like.”
Lena gives her a considering look. “How long would it take you?”
Kara’s nose wrinkles. “Half an hour,” she grumbles. “I read up on it in the archive, and it wasn’t designed well.”
Brainy heaves a very loud sigh. “I also read up on it, and it will take Lena and I working together to fully neutralize it within six hours.”
Kara pauses. “Right, I have superspeed. Ten minutes.” She winces when both geniuses growl. “I’ll do that too then,” Kara mumbles. She glances at Nia. “And then I’m taking the time off Nia mentioned, though I don’t… know how long I’ll need.”
Nia hums. “A week off from CatCo and three weeks off from DEO shifts, though we’ll need to call you in a few times.” She glares at Kara then. “Assuming you call us before making any stupid decisions.”
Kara immediately pouts. “Don’t be mad at me when I don’t know what you’re talking about yet.”
Nia growls. “I already know how the phone call will go if you make it, and I’m annoyed about that as well. It’s gonna be like pulling teeth, for fuck’s sake.” She sighs when Kara frowns. “Yeah, yeah. Kryptonian, never had any teeth pulled. Shut up.”
Kara nods and then turns to J’onn. “I’d like to get this all wrapped up soon, so… can I start now or do you all need more time to prepare?”
Alex gives her a look. “Prepare for what? Clean up duty?”
Kara shrugs one shoulder. “I mean if she gets enough hits in I’ll probably have to give you all the device I made and have you do it while I sunbathe?” She frowns when everyone growls. “Which will probably not happen. I would prefer to come out of this alive, and I have planned accordingly.” Kara turns to Lena then. “Any chance I can borrow a portal watch?”
Lena looks very close to saying no from sheer annoyance, but then she sighs. “Fine, but if you break it, you are making me a new one with alien technology, and explaining every single step.”
Kara grins. “Sounds good to me.” She ignores when her sister mutters for them to get a room, and stands, stretching. “Alright, let’s get started then, yeah?”
Lena retrieves a portal watch and when Kara slips it into her pocket her friend stares at the still-flat fabric for a long moment.
“She put something the size of a large gun in there as well,” Brainy mutters, glaring at Kara now.
“Pocket dimension,” Kara says, shrugging. When she scents Alex’s surprise, she raises both eyebrows at her sister. “How did you think I stopped breaking my phone every other fight?”
Her sister throws her hands in the air. “I thought you started leaving it with your clothes!”
Kara taps her pocket. “Not incorrect.” Alex flips her off, and Kara turns to J’onn. “Can I head out now, or…?”
J’onn sighs. “Be careful, Kara.” He looks like he wants to say more but then looks away, and Kara scents his worry.
“I’ll be fine,” Kara says, pointing to Nia. “I won’t die, and I’ll call you all for some reason.” She scowls when she scents everyone’s worry now. “My plan is good,” she grumbles.
“And she’s a General from your planet’s Military Guild,” Alex drawls. “You couldn’t even throw a punch properly until I taught you.”
Kara grins at her sister. “You taught me to fight without killing anyone,” she corrects, heading for the landing pad now. “I still use the Military Guild’s lethal techniques for warm-ups before big fights.”
Alex makes a strangled sound. “Why the fuck did a nerd in the Science Guild get military training?”
Kara waves one hand absently. “I spent about an equal amount of time at the Science Guild, Lawmakers Guild, and Military Guild for most of my childhood,” she says. “I’m off.” Kara pauses then. “Mm, you’ll probably be mad if I ditch these, so—“ She zips over to her very confused sister and dumps all the trackers the DEO stuck on her into her hands along with her comm. “And yes, I found the three you tried to hide on me. See you later.”
She hears her sister growling as she zips away, and smiles slightly when Nia again refuses to divulge anything even with Alex and Lena both bearing down on her.
Kara makes it to the remains of Fort Rozz fairly quickly, easily passing the DEO vehicles on the way to the coordinates she’d sent them, and she’s barely close enough to hear the people inside when a familiar heartbeat is zooming her way. She immediately veers off and flies as fast as she can towards the desert, swerving to avoid blasts of heat vision and barely dodging when the woman quickly catches up to her. She manages to lure her only a few miles further before being slammed into so hard she plummets down and craters the earth below.
Kara rolls as soon as she can and narrowly avoids a second hit, and she speeds to the top of the crater and looks down at the growling woman in its center. She’s wearing a uniform no doubt taken from a guard on Fort Rozz, her hair has a strange white streak that makes both Kara and her alpha uneasy, and the mating bite on her neck is visibly throbbing.
“Aunt Astra,” Kara says, already a bit out of breath. “Glad to see you’re alive.” The only response is a growl, and Kara starts the chase anew, grateful now that her aunt hadn’t gone easy on her during their ‘military games’ on trips to yellow sun planets, as it’s taking all of her training just to avoid the woman long enough to lure her to the location she needs her. “Fuck you’re fast,” Kara hisses, dropping into a nosedive to avoid a punch aimed her way. She ends up making several more craters before she gets to where she needs to be, and she’s fairly certain most of her ribs are cracked and a few bones in her limbs as well. Kara lets herself be hit this time, and when she lands she sprawls out in the sand and looks upward. “El mayarah.”
The phrase triggers the bots she’d planted, and Astra veers out of her dive when the swarms appear, one guarding Kara and the other obscuring her aunt’s view and generally being annoying. Blasts of heat vision shoot out of the black cloud surrounding Astra, and Kara pulls herself up and slips the weapon she’d finished earlier from her pocket.
“Sorry but also not,” she mutters, pointing it at the swarm and pulling the trigger. She can’t see or hear anything, but a moment later the bots disperse, sensing their target has been incapacitated, and Astra is falling, limp and unconscious now. Kara speeds towards her, tucking the weapon away as she reaches her and easily catching the woman in her arms. She descends the last few hundred feet to the ground and sits, Astra sideways in her lap. Kara stares at her, both relieved and wary, even as she pulls the next thing she’d made from her pocket. “This isn’t gonna feel great, but it’ll work,” Kara says quietly, unscrewing the jar and gathering the salve on two fingers.
She shifts her aunt slightly and moves her long hair aside, grimacing at the inflamed mating bite before beginning to coat it with the salve she’d made, the light red gel sinking into Astra’s skin as soon as it touches it. The omega in her lap makes soft, pained sounds as the salve works to erase the bite and bond it had formed, and Kara surrounds her with comforting pheromones and quietly sings to her as she continues applying the gel, her aunt whimpering even in her sleep as the salve eats away at the bond. The jar is almost empty by the time the bite has fully faded, and Kara slathers on the last of the gel and watches it closely, only wiping off the little that remains once she’s sure it’s fully taken effect. She presses her nose to the top of Astra’s head and inhales deeply, and is relieved when her alpha scents an unmated omega.
“Thank Rao,” Kara whispers, pressing her cheek to her aunt’s hair and giving herself a moment to breathe. Astra is quiet now, still unconscious from the weapon Kara had used but no longer being tormented by the bite or the salve, and Kara hugs her and trembles for a moment, fear and worry and relief and new worry filling her before she pushes it all away and blows out a slow breath. “Considering I didn’t have to trigger any of my other traps, I’m going to assume you let the bots distract you,” Kara muses, standing now and cradling her aunt close. She no longer scents any pain coming from the omega, though her own bones are still knitting themselves back together. “I’m still not… sure how you’ll react to all of this, though, so… sorry in advance, but if you run even I won’t be able to find you, and I’d at least like to make sure you’re okay.”
Kara shifts the unconscious omega to a one-armed hold and pulls out the portal watch, opening a path directly to the room she’d set up in the Fortress of Solitude. She steps through and closes the portal, slipping the watch back into her pocket and glancing around the space. The back wall has a bed and nightstand, a doorway that leads to the attached bathroom, and the wall to her right has a couch and low table. A table with two chairs is in another corner, and a plush rug covers the crystal floor. There is no way to enter or exit the room aside from the portal watch Kara used, and a Kelex unit sits dormant nearby.
“I know this isn’t Fort Rozz, but I’m still sorry for putting you in a cell again,” Kara says softly, flying over to the bed slowly and again sweeping her eyes over the space. “I tried to make it comfortable, and Kelex can get you food and whatever else you need, and I’ll be back as soon as I’ve dealt with Non and the others, I promise.” She lays her aunt on the bed and after a moment of hesitation unclips her cape, shaking it so it cleans itself before covering Astra with it. “I managed to bring the baby blanket you gave me all the way to Earth, so if nothing else trust that I’ll return quickly to get it back.”
Kara presses a quick kiss to her aunt’s forehead before zipping over to Kelex and waking it.
“Do not let Astra In-Ze leave this cell,” she tells the robot, pushing away the guilt she feels. “Otherwise tend to her regularly. Do not let anyone aside from myself near her, and do not alert Clark or any others to her presence.” She waits until the bot confirms her orders before continuing. “Run all non-invasive health tests on her, and prepare food once she awakens.” Kara pauses, considering. “Sunbathe the bed as well.”
She opens a new portal as the sunlamps over the bed flick on, and when she slips out she closes it quickly and then takes stock of her surroundings, glad to find no DEO personnel or Fort Rozz prisoners lurking about. Kara slips the watch into her pocket and quickly gathers all her bots and traps and slips them into it as well, still amazed her aunt had managed to disobey the orders Non had given her enough that Kara only had to use her initial traps. She’d never heard of an omega not immediately and faithfully carrying out their alpha’s orders, had studied the way the Codex programmed it into them all when she made the salve and was both horrified and impressed by how it was done.
Then again, Kara had also never heard of an omega achieving the rank Astra had, or gaining the prestige Alura had, and then she smiles slightly, recalling what she’d told Lena about each generation being better than the last, and decides that the Codex had worked a bit too well and thwarted its own design.
Kara heads back to Fort Rozz’s crash site, unsurprised to see everyone there unworried since their guard dog had chased off Supergirl, and she ends up hovering directly above them, Non sound asleep in bed. She aims the weapon she’d made and pulls the trigger, and everyone in the ship collapses to the ground, unconscious. Kara fires the signal gun J’onn had given her and watches the telltale black of the DEO vehicles begin to close in. She zips inside and gets started disabling and dismantling Myriad, and once she’s finished she turns to see her friends nearby, watching her silently and all of them looking worried.
“I’m still alive,” Kara says, gesturing to herself. She winces at the motion. “Need to sunbathe for… a few hours at least, though.”
“Twenty-seven earthquakes,” Brainy says quietly. “How many of those were you hitting the ground, Supergirl?”
Kara flushes and looks away. “All of them.” She huffs when she scents everyone’s worry increasing. “The last one was intentional, at least, Rao.”
J’onn squares his jaw and then blows out a slow breath. “Alright,” he says. “Where’s the General?” When Kara is silent, he gestures to the limp bodies the other agents are still gathering. “She isn’t here, and she’s the most dangerous one of them all, so where is she, Supergirl?”
Kara again adopts her mother’s neutral expression and meets J’onn’s gaze. “Dead,” she lies, and not a single person believes her.
“You don’t kill people,” Alex says. “So where is she?” When Kara just blinks at her, her sister growls and rakes a hand through her hair. “K— Supergirl, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but she is a criminal who tried to take over our planet. Where is she?”
When Kara starts to hover, J’onn steps closer, and she knows she won’t be able to leave without a fight. She looks at them all coolly. “She will not threaten this planet again, and that is all you need to know.”
“For now,” Nia says quickly, moving to stand between J’onn and Kara. “I’ve dreamed all of this, and Supergirl isn’t lying about that, and she’ll explain everything later.” A pause, and then Nia turns enough to glower at her. “Again,” she growls, “Call us before doing anything stupid.”
Kara frowns at that. “I am literally the smartest person I know,” she drawls. She flushes when Lena growls. “Had you grown up as I did it would be close, but given you were raised and educated on Earth…”
“I’ve seen both likely futures,” Nia says, frowning now. “I don’t care how smart you are, everyone does dumb shit when they’re too emotional. So call us before you make any major decisions.” She gives her a much… softer look, then. “We’re your friends, we trust you, so trust us as well. And… even if you can’t… between your powers and what all you’ve made we wouldn’t be able to stop you if we wanted to, so give us a chance, okay?”
Kara’s brow crinkles but she nods, and to her surprise J’onn steps back.
“There better be a damn good explanation for all this,” the Martian growls, eyes sweeping over Kara. “And you’d better be going somewhere you can heal.”
Kara flushes again. “She only broke a few bones,” she mutters, and when her sister growls she looks away. “In each part of my body, fine. People… engineered for the Military Guild tend to have much stronger powers under a yellow sun, so getting her where I needed to, uh… wasn’t easy.” She gestures to the device laying in pieces behind her. “Myriad has been disabled and disassembled, and I already texted C… my day job boss, so I will be going now. Uh, and I need to keep the portal watch for a bit, if that’s alright.”
Lena waves her hand, and Kara scents her annoyance and worry. “I have more,” she says absently. “And I don’t know what Dreamer keeps alluding to, but given how worried she is about it…” Somber green eyes meet Kara’s. “I decided to trust you again, Supergirl, so I expect to be shown the same courtesy.”
Kara’s eyes widen at that and she slowly nods. “I also don’t know what she’s talking about, but I’ll… keep that in mind.”
“Can I see the weapon now?” Brainy asks abruptly.
Kara considers him for a moment and then pulls it from her pocket and places it on the ground before zipping away through one of the large holes torn into the ship, and she hears the man pick it up and then growl quietly.
“What’s wrong?” J’onn asks.
“There was no need to lure the General away,” Brainy says, growling louder. “This could have knocked them all out as soon as she was close enough. The only reason I can think of for her to have… gotten that woman to a second location and sustained so many injuries in doing so… was to keep us from arresting her.”
Kara is already flying away, but she hears Nia’s soft sigh. “It’ll make sense later,” Nia says, and then she growls quietly. “I understand why she’s doing it this way, but it’s still fucking annoying.”
She’s too far to hear anymore after that, and after taking a few calming breaths Kara opens a portal and slips through, half expecting Astra to either attack her or try to get past her, but she closes the portal without incident, slipping the watch into her pocket even as her eyes go to the bed, which is… empty. No Astra, no cape.
Kara looks to where she hears the familiar heartbeat then and sees her aunt curled up in the corner near the table, the red fabric clutched tightly in her lap and her face hidden against her knees.
“Aunt Astra?” Kara asks softly. No response, no indication she’d even heard her, though Kara can tell she’s awake. She walks over and stops nearby, considering, and then she has to swallow a growl when she realizes why the woman may not react to her own name. “Omega,” Kara whispers.
Astra’s head snaps up and she faces her, but her eyes are trained somewhere around Kara’s feet. “Yes, alpha.”
Kara, suddenly, wishes she hadn’t let the DEO arrest Non either, both she and her wolf barely managing to bury their fury lest its scent escape and scare the woman still tightly wedged into the corner. Kara blows out a slow breath, eyes falling to the blanket Astra is still holding and feeling the many places her own body aches from the chase.
The food Kelex had placed on the table is untouched, and Kara steps forward and lays one hand on top of her aunt’s head, carefully scenting the air. Her presence, at least, does not cause the omega any distress, and when she strokes her hair Astra leans into the touch, eyes closing and a bit more at ease.
“We both need to eat,” Kara muses, keeping her tone light and her voice soft. “And I need to sunbathe, so where would you be most comfortable, omega?”
Astra stiffens but relaxes when Kara wraps her in her scent. Still, the woman whispers, “I will do as you wish, alpha.”
Kara wants to growl but crouches instead and kisses her aunt’s forehead, blue eyes opening in surprise and briefly meeting her own before Astra drops her gaze. Kara continues petting her hair, considering how best to go about this. “There’s a lot I don’t know right now,” she says quietly, “so I’d be grateful if you could answer my questions truthfully and as completely as possible.”
“Yes, alpha.”
Kara again swallows a growl and kisses her aunt’s cheek this time. “Would it be alright if we sat at the table and ate together?”
A long pause, and she sees nervous eyes glance up at the food on the table. “I do not know if I can,” Astra finally admits, voice trembling. “If you are sitting and I am with you, I… should be kneeling at your feet, alpha.”
Kara has to look up when she feels heat rise to her eyes, and when she manages to stave off her heat vision she kisses her aunt’s forehead again. “If I sit on the couch, will you be comfortable eating food from the coffee table?”
Astra looks over at the couch for a moment. “Yes, alpha.”
Kara has Kelex begin moving the food to the low table and then regards her aunt for a moment and has to mentally rephrase her next question several times lest her anger break through. “I’d like us to move over there as well,” she says carefully. “But how will you… go about that?”
The omega’s brow furrows and then she flushes, and Kara scents her embarrassment and wariness. “Whether I walk or crawl is up to you, alpha,” Astra says quietly.
Kara isn’t sure if she should feel relieved given what that implies, and she presses another kiss to her aunt’s forehead before stepping back. “Then we’re going to go to the couch, and I would prefer you walk.”
Her aunt stands, still tightly clutching the red blanket, and once they reach the couch and Kara sits she kneels nearby, gaze now fixed on the red fabric in her lap. Kara reaches out and pets Astra’s hair while Kelex finishes moving all the food, watching the woman’s tense muscles relax.
“I’d like us both to eat our fill now,” Kara says after awhile. “Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”
She isn’t sure if the omega will give her an actual response, but, “I would appreciate if you… surrounded me with calming pheromones again, alpha.” It’s whispered so quietly Kara can barely make it out, and when she quickly wraps her aunt in her scent Astra finally raises her eyes to the table, assessing the food, and Kara again scents her wariness and embarrassment.
“You may eat whatever you wish,” Kara says, still stroking her aunt’s hair. “I would prefer you, ah, use utensils and whatnot.”
“Thank you, alpha,” Astra murmurs. She starts eating once Kara does, and Kara pays close attention, knowing her aunt likely needs to eat as much if not more than she does given her strength and how much she’d used her powers, and even when they’re both finished, Astra having eaten even more than her, she still checks that she’s no longer hungry. “I ate my fill as you wanted me to, alpha.”
Kara kisses her cheek again and has Kelex clear away the plates. She sweeps her aunt with x-ray vision and then thinks for a moment. “I only installed sunlamps over the bed,” she says, wincing when she shifts too much and feels several painful twinges. “So I’d like us to… talk, I guess, there, but… would it be alright if you… sat or laid beside me?”
Astra again flushes. “I will do whatever you wish in bed, alpha,” she says, embarrassment growing when she no doubt scents Kara’s own. “Though I am… used to sleeping on the floor or at the foot of the bed.”
Kara again has to look away when she feels heat rising to her eyes, and it takes even longer to fade this time. When she looks back to her aunt, she ends up blurting a question her wolf has. “Would you be uncomfortable if I picked you up and carried you?”
Astra glances up at her in surprise before again dropping her gaze. “No, alpha, though…”
“Please say whatever you wish, omega,” Kara says softly.
Her aunt curls in on herself, and Kara scents her shame. “You are still injured and in pain, alpha, so I do not think that you doing such a thing currently would be… good for you. I… apologize for—“ Her apology ends in a surprised gasp when Kara stands and scoops her into her arms, ignoring the complaints her body immediately sends her way.
“There’s no need for that,” Kara says, nuzzling against the top of her aunt’s head as she floats over to the bed. “You didn’t have a choice in the matter, and I knew what I was getting into when I used myself as bait for the only omega to ever make General and who was given that rank three years earlier than the former youngest ever to receive it.” She hums happily and knows her aunt can scent her pride. “Also, I still don’t understand how you managed to let my first traps distract you long enough for me to knock you out. I had another fifteen ready and I was only 90% sure those would let me succeed.”
Kara lays her aunt on the bed and then floats over her and lays beside her, and once she has Kelex turn on the sunlamps she sinks into the mattress with a relieved sigh as the warmth and energy flood her.
“If jeju hadn’t trained me out of eating in bed,” Kara grumbles absently, and when she hears a soft sound of amusement she turns her head, sleepily regarding her aunt. “I know you’re gonna be annoyed I’m asking this,” Kara says, “but you do… remember everything and know who I am, yeah?”
Astra manages to glare at her for half a second before she closes her eyes, settling on her side and still holding the baby blanket close. “I do not have any memory loss, alpha,” she drawls. A pause. “Though as you realized earlier, I… am unused to my own name now.” Her cheeks flush, and Kara increases the strength of the pheromones she’s secreting even as she shifts enough to kiss her aunt’s forehead. A quiet sigh. “You are… were my little one,” Astra whispers, curling around the blanket and whimpering quietly. “Before I was mated to… that man.”
Kara rolls onto her side and nuzzles against her aunt’s cheek. “I’d prefer that be present tense,” she muses, winding one arm around the omega and hugging her close, Astra’s head tucked under her own. “Rao, we do need to talk more, but…” Kara yawns and holds her aunt closer. “If I fall asleep will I wake up later and find you… in a corner again?”
Warm air tickles her neck when her aunt sighs, and she feels her slip an arm around her waist. “I will stay with you unless you tell me otherwise, alpha,” Astra whispers.
Kara hums and nuzzles against the top of the omega’s head. “Good,” she mumbles, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. “Stay with me… forever then…” Kara feels her aunt cuddle closer and smiles. “Mm, you can take… bathroom and food breaks and all though.” Sleep pulls her down even as Astra begins humming a familiar tune, and Kara has no dreams, just a sense of safety and love she hasn’t felt for a very long time.
When Kara wakes she does so slowly, registering a strange heat pressed against her and blearily realizing it’s another Kryptonian, as humans never feel quite so warm, and then she notices the familiar heartbeat her hearing had focused in on and the comforting scent of the person she’s still hugging close.
“Aunt Astra,” Kara mumbles sleepily, and the woman doesn’t stir. She nuzzles against the top of her head. “Precious omega.” Blue eyes that match her own open and hold her gaze for several seconds before dropping, and Kara hums and kisses her forehead. “I dunno if it’s morning but good morning,” Kara whispers, waking more now. “Are you feeling more… tired or hungry or, uh… like we should talk, right now?” When she scents her aunt’s amusement she huffs. “English is not my first language and I still won a Pulitzer,” Kara grumbles, poking her cheek.
“It is not even your hundredth language, alpha,” Astra says almost absently. When she squirms Kara releases her and she rolls away enough to stretch before rolling back and tucking herself against Kara again. “The third option, I suppose,” she decides, nuzzling against Kara’s neck now. “Though we should eat more soon. I am well aware of how many of your bones I broke, and you will need to refuel after how much healing you did, alpha.”
Kara huffs and pulls away long enough to kiss her aunt’s forehead. “You aren’t incorrect,” she admits, slightly annoyed. “I was honestly expecting to be more injured, though given you seemed to be mimicking my nonlethal fighting style instead of using the techniques you taught me as a cub…” She recalls several of those moves and holds the omega closer. “I could tell that stupid bite mark was causing you a lot of pain, so thank you for not grievously injuring me, precious omega.”
Astra hums. “He ordered me to kill any intruders, but did not say to do so quickly or specify how,” she says. “The bite you… somehow erased… was mostly inflicting pain because I knew you were scheming something and I did my best to play along.”
“Mm, they gave it a nasty design,” Kara muses. “Once I saw you on that fool’s little world domination declaration broadcast I studied how the Codex programmed omegas to obey their alphas, and it’s unfortunately very thorough and… impressive,” Kara says. “Especially considering it was designed centuries before our planet died.” She growls and hugs Astra closer, nuzzling against the top of her head and wrapping her in her scent. “So it’s even more impressive that you fought against it, precious omega.” Kara hums for a moment. “I am glad I made plenty of salve, though, uh… I think it caused you more pain than the bite did… I didn’t have time to find a way to make it painless…”
Her aunt taps her side lightly. “Alpha,” she muses. “If I am not to apologize for injuring you then I believe you should not apologize for causing me pain while freeing me from that man’s control.” Astra’s hand rubs at the unblemished skin of her neck then. “Which is something I am fairly certain your guild officially declared was impossible on many occasions.”
“They also didn’t know we were killing our planet, so I don’t think the elders were all that bright,” Kara says. She smiles and kisses the top of her aunt’s hair. “And you are much more talkative now, precious omega.”
Astra presses her face to Kara’s neck, her breaths warm and ticklish. “You ensured I felt safe,” she whispers. “I still… do not think I could even sit at a table with you, but speaking to you is easier now, at least, alpha.”
Kara begins carding her hand through her aunt’s hair, humming as she thinks. “I’m going to ask you some more annoying questions,” she decides. “Please keep in mind I haven’t been able to speak to you properly in decades at this point, and I… have no way of knowing just how much that disgusting man affected your mind.” When she scents her aunt’s worry, she nuzzles against her hair. “No matter your answers you have my love and protection, precious omega.”
Astra wraps both arms around her waist tightly and keeps her face so close to Kara’s neck she feels the warmth of her breaths. “Alright, alpha.”
Kara continues carding her hand through her hair and increases the potency of the pheromones she’s secreting. She asks her aunt about what led to her arrest on Krypton, and is both relieved and enraged to hear she was acting solely on Non’s orders the entire time and wanted no part in his scheme. Astra does say she wished she could have saved Krypton, even with mind control, but she also mutters that Non’s plan was foolish and never would have worked even if executed perfectly.
She seized control of Fort Rozz at Non’s behest but with far more agency, the man not bothering to try to dictate a plan to her this time, and she managed to sway most of the guards to their side since Krypton had exploded and no one wanted to stay in the Phantom Zone forever. Astra was the one who convinced Non to use Kara’s pod to get to Earth, and she kept him distracted until Kara was found by Superman and taken away.
“I am still amazed he wished to take over this planet with mind control as well,” Astra mutters, Kara not even having asked her next question yet. “He already saw his ‘genius plan’ fail on Krypton, yet he changed almost nothing and ignored the suggestions of even those who had remained loyal to him.” Her annoyance is strong enough to scent. “I had to carry out a fool’s orders on two planets.”
Kara does her best not to laugh at hearing her aunt disparage her old alpha. “Last annoying question, and you kinda already answered it,” she says, “but do you want to take over this planet?”
“No,” Astra drawls, and Kara feels her make a face, the omega still tucked against her and pressing her nose to her neck, as close to her scent glands as she can get. “I will admit humans are not treating this planet kindly, but remedying that with world domination is not… something I would want to attempt.” She hums for a moment. “You may be able to accomplish it, alpha, but I have seen how humans fight for their autonomy so I would rather that not be a burden you choose to carry.”
Kara hums, considering. “If I live to be two thousand I may give it a whirl,” she muses. “Currently I think I’ll give them a bit more time to figure it out themselves. Lena at least is forcing her company and even her competitors in a better direction.”
“Mm, the omega you for some reason have not claimed,” Astra muses, and when Kara squeaks she nuzzles against her neck. “You very nearly lost her to your cousin’s beta friend, alpha, so I suggest you do not wait too long.”
“We’re still getting to know each other again,” Kara mumbles, unable to quell the heat in her cheeks. “I dunno how you know all that, but we kinda… were enemies for a little bit, and now she’s very determined to know all my… alien sides as well, I guess.”
Astra gives a noncommittal hum. “He wanted me to spy on anyone who could become an obstacle to his plan, so I spent quite a lot of time taking advantage of that and watching you,” her aunt says quietly, and Kara scents her sorrow. “I am sorry I had to leave you alone on an alien planet, li… alpha.”
“It wasn’t too bad,” Kara says, wondering now just how much of her life her aunt had seen. She kisses her forehead and then hugs her closer. “I found my way eventually, precious omega.”
They’re both silent for awhile, lost in their own thoughts, and then Astra pulls away and manages to hold Kara’s gaze, and she scents her worry. “I know… I will likely end up dead or in a black site,” her aunt whispers. “But… if I am imprisoned somewhere you know of, will you… visit me, at least, alpha?”
Kara’s brow crinkles. “Wh… I’m not letting anyone arrest you,” she blurts. “Rao, I did all of this so they wouldn’t get you.”
Astra’s brow furrows and she looks away, turning enough to take in the room they’re in. “Then will you be keeping me imprisoned here, alpha?” She turns back and pokes Kara’s cheek. “If that is your plan, you have to visit me at least a few times a month.”
Kara gapes at her. “I’m not letting anyone imprison you, and that includes me,” she growls. “I only made this place because I wasn’t… sure how you’d react once you woke up, and I wanted to make sure you were okay since I know if you want to disappear you will.”
Her aunt frowns. “I did attempt to take over this planet, alpha,” Astra drawls. “I am a criminal, to a global degree.”
Kara props herself up on her elbow and glares down at her aunt. “You didn’t do any of that because you wanted to, and I’m still pissed that Krypton’s laws disregard that. You have to obey whoever bites you because of some asshole scientist who figured out how to program that into the babies whose wolves were omegas.”
Astra reaches up and taps her forehead, and Kara suddenly scents her… fear. “Exactly,” her aunt says softly, not meeting her eyes. “I am a very useful tool, and whoever should bite me can wield me as they please, regardless of if they are Kryptonian, because it is programmed into me. I cannot risk such a thing happening again, alpha.” She meets Kara’s eyes, her own determined. “If you are not willing to hand me over to the DEO, then you should keep me here.” Astra looks away, taking in the room. “This is far nicer than Fort Rozz, and given how long I spent with that man, I cannot truthfully say I would be able to keep someone from claiming me again. I can barely meet your gaze, and had you not been holding me when you fell asleep you may well have awoken to find me curled up at the foot of the bed.” She sneers and Kara scents her fear give way to disgust. “I have been trained, and I cannot be trusted to have freedom now. It will not last, alpha, and I do not… wish to experience such things ever again.”
Kara stares at her, not even breathing as her mind tumbles ahead, and then she reaches out and cups her aunt’s neck, stroking the skin lightly with her thumb. “What if I claim you?” She whispers, and Astra stills. “I will never give you an order, and I will never let anyone harm you. You will be my mate, for the rest of our very long lives, and I will do my best to help you forget his training and live however you wish.”
Astra stares at her, assessing her body language and carefully scenting the air. “I… should not ask my little one to do such a thing,” she whispers, holding Kara’s gaze. “Family members mating was not… uncommon on our planet, alpha, but here…”
Kara leans down and nuzzles against her cheek. “I don’t care,” she murmurs. “I have been missing you for decades, and I am not going to let you be locked away and left to rot, nor will I try to force you to live freely when you are afraid to do so.” She kisses her aunt’s cheek and then pulls away enough to meet her eyes. “I will keep you safe, and I will treat you with love and respect, so give yourself to me, precious omega.”
Her aunt again assesses her, eyes sweeping over her several times before returning to her own, and then she tilts her head, baring her neck.
Kara ducks down and feels her alpha rise within her, and she nuzzles against the omega’s neck for a bit before finding the spot that smells the best to her. She growls softly and moves so she’s half on top of the omega, using her weight to keep her still and tangling one hand in long, soft hair to keep her head from moving. Kara bites down firmly but gently, wrapping her omega in her strongest pheromones and imprinting her scent on her as she squirms beneath her, whimpering quietly. She feels the warm body under her go limp when the bite takes, and her omega gives a breathy whine as the claim settles within her. Kara carefully extracts her teeth and laps at the wound as it heals, the sunlamp above hastening the process, and she stays there even after it’s done, licking and nibbling at the healed bite and she and her alpha feeling oddly… satiated.
“Mine,” Kara growls softly, pulling away and meeting wide blue eyes that match her own. “My precious omega.” She darts forward and captures her aunt’s lips in a kiss, easily deepening it when she gasps and moving to lay fully on top of her now, relishing her omega’s warm, pliant body against her and taking advantage of neither of them needing to breathe much on this planet to take her time, languidly exploring her omega’s mouth and encouraging her tongue to dance with her own. When Kara eventually pulls away, she presses light kisses to her cheeks and forehead before pressing one last, chaste kiss to her lips. “My mate,” she says, calmer now and dropping her head to nuzzle against the fresh mark. “My Astra, with a pretty bite on her neck, mine.”
“Oh Rao,” Astra whispers, raising one hand to card through Kara’s hair. “I, ah… alpha,” she says hesitantly. “What… would you prefer I call you?”
Kara hums and nips at the bite, smiling when her aunt jolts slightly. “Little one,” she decides. “Kara. Alpha, but with… an adjective of your choosing.” She lifts her head and kisses her omega again before rolling off of her and standing. “In that order, please, precious omega. Now, we do need food, so is there anything you’re particularly in the mood for?”
Astra absently lists off some foods and then very, very hesitantly calls her ‘little one’, and Kara immediately scoops her off the bed, cradling her to her chest and nuzzling against her face aggressively. She plops down on the couch, her aunt in her lap and very flushed for some reason, and continues rubbing against her cheeks and neck while Kelex places food on the low table.
Kara hums and pulls away as the bot trundles off, regarding her aunt curiously. “What would you prefer I call you?”
Astra’s flush deepens, and Kara scents her embarrassment. “Precious omega,” she mumbles, gaze fixed on her lap… where Kara is surprised to see the baby blanket now clutched tightly in her hands. “My name, but… not…” She trails off until Kara ducks her head and nuzzles against the mark on her neck. “I know I need to… get used to it again,” her omega whispers. “But I… really only noticed you say it when you, ah… did so… possessively.”
Kara has to think a moment, and then she smiles. “My Astra?” She purrs, and when her aunt flushes and turns to hide her face against Kara’s neck she smiles and tightens her hold. “Precious omega,” Kara says lightly. “Are you comfortable right now?”
“I am embarrassed, little one,” Astra mumbles. “I went from being a General to being a guard dog to being…”
“My precious omega,” Kara says easily, petting her aunt’s hair and humming happily. “My Astra.” She grins when her aunt presses closer, making a sound that’s half annoyance and half… well, Kara’s rut isn’t for another few weeks, but she supposes she’ll be hearing many similar sounds then. For now, her precious omega is in her lap and hasn’t even noticed she is technically sitting even higher than Kara is despite needing to kneel at her feet before.
Kara starts eating with one hand, her other arm wound securely around her aunt’s waist, and when Astra’s embarrassment fades enough for her to quit hiding her face Kara casually hands her some food, and it isn’t until Kelex is clearing the plates that Astra freezes. Kara stands before she can try to slip away to kneel on the floor, cradling her in her arms and heading back to the bed, where she places her still-shocked aunt before gently flopping on top of her.
“Something wrong, precious omega?” Kara asks, nuzzling against the mark on her neck.
“Little one,” Astra grumbles, “do not feign ignorance. You noticed almost immediately— it is why you asked if I was comfortable.”
“True,” Kara admits, kissing her way up the soft skin of her aunt’s neck before capturing her lips in a kiss again. This time, possibly from sheer annoyance, Astra is the one to deepen the kiss, and when Kara hums happily the scent of her aunt’s ire fades and she instead focuses on exploring the kiss much as Kara had earlier.
When Astra pulls away, she watches Kara silently for a bit, and then lifts one hand and cups her cheek, thumb stroking her skin. “Beloved alpha,” she decides, raising her head and kissing Kara’s cheek. “Sweet alpha,” she adds, kissing her other cheek. “Are those to your liking, little one?”
Kara gives her aunt a brilliant smile. “They’re perfect, precious omega.” She wraps both arms around her omega’s waist and rolls so Astra is sprawled on top of her. Kara hums and reaches up, gently guiding her aunt down so she can kiss her again, she and her alpha both craving the simple intimacy of having their omega in their arms, safely tucked away as they currently are.
It’s a long while later that Astra moves so she’s straddling her, sitting with her back straight and hands splayed on Kara’s abdomen. “Little one,” she says, and Kara scents her worry. “I know… you do not wish to keep me locked away, and I trust that you spoke the truth when you asked me to… give myself to you…” She pauses, flushing, and then takes a deep breath. “Regardless, it would… likely be best for me to stay here.”
Kara swallows her growl and does her best not to glare at her aunt. “You are my mate,” she says firmly. She has to bite back a rant about not allowing her family to live in a cell, forcing herself to calm. “Why would you say such a thing, precious omega?”
Astra’s fingers twitch on her stomach, and Kara watches curiously as she grabs the red blanket from where it had fallen beside them, holding it to her tightly. “I am a wanted criminal, little one,” she says, voice shaking. “Your friends and family wish to arrest me, and I… do not want to come between you all. You can keep me here, tell them… you had to make a special prison to keep me contained, or anything else you wish, and… eventually the world will have forgotten me, and I can come out then.”
Kara’s brow crinkles as she considers all of that. There’s no way she’s keeping her precious omega locked away, of course, but she isn’t incorrect that the DEO wants to capture or even kill her. The general public doesn’t know much, at least, as she’d barely been visible in the broadcast Non had shown the world, only Kara recognizing her until the DEO had captured footage of her when they’d interrupted the stream and gotten wind of her identity. And at this point… nearly all of Kara’s Earth family is tied to the DEO. J’onn is the Director, Alex the Assistant Director, Brainy and Nia and even Lena are all contractors now…
Her first instinct is to leave. Take her mate far away, to a place they can never reach. She’s seen what the DEO does to dangerous aliens, saw the fear and apprehension her friends had surrounding the fearsome Kryptonian General, and… this planet knows nothing of what the Codex had programmed into omega children. Her planet had, and still sentenced and punished them as if they had been acting of their own free will. Her mother had used her to capture Astra just to arrest her and send her to a place Kara knows firsthand now, considers a fate worse than death…
Rao, she shouldn’t even stay on Earth. Kara should take her precious omega somewhere else, somewhere safer, that doesn’t know either of them and that isn’t so wary of aliens. A place without so much kryptonite, without a cousin who cares more for his image than his family, without…
Kara stiffens, then, because yes, she is afraid, she and her wolf both desperate to protect their mate, but… can she leave her Earth family… forever? Alex, Lena, Eliza, J’onn, Nia, Brainy… Cat, Carter… She starts breathing a bit too fast, then, and can feel her heart pounding far too quickly, and a moment later Astra has lain across her again, and Kara is surrounded by familiar, comforting pheromones.
“Breathe, little one,” Astra says softly, petting her hair now. “Just breathe, Kara, all is well.” She gets her to breathe with her and Kara slowly calms, focusing all her senses on her aunt and letting her racing thoughts quiet. Her omega kisses her cheek. “Now, what are you thinking, my beloved alpha?”
Kara takes a few more calming breaths and locks her arms around her aunt’s waist, eyes roving over her face and doing her best to remain calm. “I’m not keeping someone I love locked away,” she murmurs. “But this… this whole planet is a danger to you. We should leave, that’s… that’s what I was thinking, but then I thought about leaving Alex and Lena and everyone else, and…” She whimpers quietly and Astra nuzzles against her face, increasing the strength of her pheromones.
“So far,” her aunt muses, “I do not think either of our solutions are ideal, little one.”
Kara mutters a quiet agreement and then stills, remembering Lena’s solemn gaze and Alex’s worry and Nia’s insisting she… “Ohhh,” Kara whispers. When her omega raises both eyebrows, she flushes. “Do you, uh, know about… Naltorians and how they, uh…”
Astra makes a soft sound. “Your half-Naltorian friend mentioned something she dreamed?”
Kara blinks at her. “How much of my life have you seen, precious omega?”
Astra looks away, flushing. “I have definitely missed some key moments,” she mumbles, “but… I have seen enough to have a good understanding of it, at least.”
Kara hums and darts up long enough to kiss the corner of her mouth. “That’s probably for the best since I didn’t bother retaining all the ridiculous things I’ve dealt with well enough to explain them all to you,” she decides. “And before I… lured you away, I guess, uh… Nia told me… many, many times to call them all and talk to them before making any major life decisions, and she was… very annoyed and told me not to do anything stupid, and also said, uh, if nothing else they wouldn’t be able to stop me, so I should at least give them a chance.”
Astra considers it for a moment. “So be it,” she says. When she squirms Kara releases her, and to her dismay her aunt rolls off of her, laying beside her on the bed now. She pokes Kara’s pouting cheek. “I do not believe you should call them with me literally on top of you, my sweet alpha. Your sister at least will likely assume I somehow seduced you as it is.”
Kara sighs and moves so she’s sitting against the headboard, and when she continues pouting her omega gives her a very unimpressed look but moves so her head is laying on Kara’s lap, and Kara hums happily at that and starts petting her hair.
She pulls her phone from her pocket dimension with her free hand and then looks down at her aunt, scenting her slight worry. “You are mine now,” Kara says softly. “No matter how this goes, I will keep you safe, and we will live freely and together. I meant all I said when I claimed you, precious omega, and I was taught to keep my promises.”
Astra makes a soft sound of amusement and reaches up, tapping her forehead lightly. “I suppose I did stress that, and Alura did as well,” she muses. She settles then, though she’s far more relaxed. “Alright, little one, do as you will.”
Kara considers it for a moment and then dials Nia, since she was the one so insistent she call them, and the young woman picks up on the first ring.
“Please tell me you’re still on Earth,” Nia blurts.
Kara is so surprised it takes a moment to answer. “Were the only options really that I call or flee the planet entirely?”
“Yes,” Nia snaps. “For fuck’s sake, Kara, I know you’re overprotective, and I know enough already to see why that’s even more true for this, but fuck. Now give me a few minutes to get them all. And yes we’re all at work already, considering how you were acting and who you’re hiding.”
Kara hears Nia moving things around and then she can hear her corralling everyone into a conference room, and then the phone is set down and Nia tells her she’s on speaker.
“Kara Zor-El Danvers,” Alex growls before she can speak. “Why the fuck was Nia worried you were going to run away from Earth?”
She sighs when she hears Nia mutter a quiet apology for answering her phone like that in the command room, and when she looks down her aunt is doing her best not to laugh, and Kara pouts and continues petting her hair. “I did consider it,” she admits, wincing at the strangled sounds the phone’s speaker picks up. “But then I remembered what Lena said and how worried Alex was and Nia’s insistence I call, so… I am still on Earth, if that was not clear.”
Brainy, surprisingly, is the first to react to all that. “If you do decide to leave the planet, how long would that take, exactly?”
Kara hums, thinking. “Not too long,” she says, unwilling to tell them she already has a ship mostly built that she was planning to use to get to Fort Rozz before learning the prison had followed her to Earth. “We’d be gone before you reached us, even with portal watches.”
“We?” It’s J’onn this time. “Kara… were you going to run away with the General?”
Kara blinks at her phone. “Obviously,” she drawls. “And while I’m usually perfectly happy to hear people call her that, please use her name as well since I’d like her to get used to it again.” When her aunt flushes and taps her forehead, she raises both eyebrows. “You do need to— whether we can stay here or go elsewhere, you thrive being around other people, even if you are kinda shy at first.”
“I am not shy,” Astra blurts, and then immediately covers her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my god you are with her,” Alex says a second later.
“Kara,” Lena says slowly. “We don’t, ah… know her name, though from what you just said… when did you first meet her, exactly?”
Kara pets her aunt’s hair and wraps her in her pheromones, her omega blushing and covering her face with her hands now. “Her name is Astra,” she says softly. “And if it weren’t for her I’d probably have brain damage considering my father was entirely too tired when I was handed to him and he dropped me. Luckily she was standing next to him and caught me before I fell too far.”
Astra drops her hands and stares at her in shock. “How… little one,” her aunt says slowly. “You had just been removed from the Codex, how can you remember that?”
Kara frowns, ignoring the strange, choked sounds coming from the other end of the line. “I remember everything? I mean I’ve forgotten some of the more… boring things, but that kinda stood out.” She huffs and glares at the wall. “I still can’t believe ukr dropped me. And he didn’t even apologize!”
“Kara,” it’s Lena again. “If… General Astra has known you for so long, why exactly did she… go from attempting to take over the Earth and slamming you into the ground twenty-seven times to… whatever is happening now?”
Kara stiffens, growling quietly. “I should’ve killed him,” she snarls.
Astra makes an annoyed sound. “If you want him dead I will kill him, little one, but I would rather you not do such a thing.”
Kara can’t help it and starts pouting. “I don’t want you near him, precious omega.” She pauses then, again ignoring the odd sounds coming from the phone. “Mm, though you are good at killing people very slowly, and he does deserve that and then some.”
“I take back what I said earlier,” Nia drawls. “This is less like pulling teeth and more like herding cats. Kara, who’s Astra to you?”
“There are a few answers to that,” Kara muses, smiling when her aunt groans. “As of… hm, not too long ago, she’s my mate. Before that pathetic man took her she was my aunt, and before I decided she was even more stubborn than me I did try to get her to let me call her what I called my mother, but even before she realized I could tell them both apart she still refused.” Kara pokes her aunt’s very flushed cheek. “I tried for months, precious omega, and even once I figured out how to pout you still didn’t cave. It was very annoying.”
Astra huffs. “I was not about to steal my sister’s cub,” she grumbles. Then she sighs. “Though I suppose I have now, just… in a different way.” She hums. “I am not sure if Alura would kill me or start whining about her own mate.”
Kara frowns. “Jeju and ukr got along,” she says. “When… he didn’t spend too much time with anyone else.”
“That,” Nia says suddenly. “Kryptonians have multiple mates, Lena, chill.”
Kara looks to the phone, and then makes a soft sound of surprise, and her aunt reaches up and taps her forehead.
“You have been here as long as I have, little one,” Astra drawls. “Did you not notice people in this country tend to have a single mate?”
“On Krypton I already had over a dozen my parents were considering,” Kara mumbles, looking away when her aunt raises her eyebrows. “Ukr picked six and jeju picked six and then… my uncle also picked a few, and they all stressed that I needed several to… pass on my genius, I suppose.”
Astra hums. “A slight correction to what Nia Nal said,” she muses. “Kryptonians in affluent houses had a few mates, two or three usually, and those in the ruling houses had perhaps six. My little one, however, was apparently going to have a genuine harem.”
Kara pouts and looks away. “I never even met any of them, and our cubs would have been made with the Codex anyway, so I don’t see how that’s relevant.” She pauses then. “Another annoying question, precious omega, but do you want to have cubs?”
Astra gives her a look for that. “If you have to ask, perhaps I should not have let you claim me after all.”
Kara squeaks. “It’s been decades since I saw you, and from what little I’ve seen that…” She looks away, growling again, and her omega quickly wraps her in her scent. “I just… need to know before my rut starts,” she mumbles, flushing now. “We don’t have to if you aren’t ready, and I can make heat suppressants that are safe for you.”
Her aunt growls and then sighs. “Make some heat suppressants, please,” she grumbles. “I should not be raising cubs until I can at least sit at…” She looks over at the table and curls closer to Kara, muttering Kryptonian curses. “I may never…”
Kara leans down and kisses her forehead. “You will,” she says easily. “You didn’t even notice where you were sitting last time, so I’ll just keep embarrassing you and keeping you in my lap until you get used to it, precious omega.” When her aunt scowls at her, she grins. “What? I’d rather have you in my lap than kneeling at my feet any day.”
“Explain that,” Lena says, her voice holding a lethal kind of calm Kara hasn’t heard in quite some time. “Now, please, Kara or General Astra.”
Kara cards her hand through Astra’s hair and quietly explains what Krypton had done to its omegas, what she’d learned from studying the process to create a way to break the bond the bite formed and how she’s still amazed at how much her aunt was able to fight against it. She also tells them a quick summary of Astra’s answers to her ‘annoying questions’, and after Astra mumbles for her to explain the rest she somewhat reluctantly tells them of her aunt’s fear of being forced to do such things again, insisting she be handed over to the DEO or kept locked away where they’re currently at, and how that led to Kara claiming her.
“She’s mine,” Kara growls, whole body tense now. “I will never let anyone hurt her again, and that includes all of you. The DEO isn’t touching her, and I will take my mate and leave this planet if I must.”
Astra makes an annoyed sound and taps her forehead, the phone oddly silent. “Again, little one, I do not wish to come between you and the family you have made here. I can simply stay in here for a century or so until this planet has forgotten me.”
Kara can’t even respond to that, the thought alone making her shake with rage and frustration.
“General Astra,” Lena says calmly. “From what I heard you want cubs, and while I’m sure Kara prepared a nice enough space to hide you both away in, I doubt it’s suitable for raising children.”
Astra frowns, considering. “I would rather not wait a century to have cubs,” she mumbles, scowling now. “Little one, your other omega has brought up an annoying point.”
Kara chokes. “She isn’t… we’re not…”
“Oh no,” Lena says. “I am, we are, and since Kara is apparently going to gather a harem she will be biting me sooner rather than later.” She pauses while Kara sputters. “I’m going to assume this will count as an annoying question, but given that what you said earlier implies you are the identical twin of Kara’s mother… will whatever cubs you two produce be healthy?”
“The Science Guild fixed that several thousand years before our planet died,” Astra says, sitting up now and straddling Kara’s lap to nuzzle against her. “So yes. Also, you have made my beloved alpha far more flustered than I thought possible given how quickly she started treating me as her mate.”
Kara squeaks and hides her face against her very amused aunt’s neck. “Tattletale.”
“J’onn,” Alex says, and Kara can barely pay attention, her omega now surrounding her with calming pheromones. “Can I get like… five minutes alone with Non?”
“No,” J’onn says immediately.
“I’ll take two minutes,” Alex tries.
A very loud sigh. “Alex, I cannot let you torture someone we officially have in custody.”
Brainy hums. “What if we happened to experience a glitch, and he ‘escapes’, and our Assistant Director just happened to be… bringing some kryptonite weapons to the armory?”
“Agent Dox, Assistant Director Danvers,” J’onn rumbles. “If that were to occur, it may well be questioned, and we need to be inconspicuous considering someone is already erasing all evidence of General Astra’s existence from our system and any others.”
Kara blinks at the phone and scents her aunt’s surprise matching her own.
“I’m doing no such thing,” Lena says easily. A soft hum the phone barely picks up. “Brainy, could you deal with the recording of the broadcast on social media? You’re better at doctoring footage than I am.”
“That is not as fun as staging an ‘escape’,” Brainy says, and Kara is fairly certain he’s sulking. “But alright.”
“Kara,” Nia chirps. “You’re free to cuddle with Astra for the rest of the week, but then you both are coming back to National City.” A very evil laugh. “And to Lena’s place, from what I’ve seen.”
“Darling,” Lena says, and Kara squeaks again, because it’s been awhile since her best friend had called her that. “Is there anything dangerous in your apartment or can I have a moving company bring your things over?”
“Oh Rao,” Kara whispers, hiding against her very amused omega.
“I’d like an answer please,” Lena drawls.
“It’s all safe,” Kara grumbles. “I keep my fun stuff elsewhere.”
A pleased hum. “Good girl,” Lena purrs, and Kara chokes on nothing.
“I’m hanging up now,” Kara grumbles. She pauses. “Okay, annoying question for all of you. Does this mean you’re gonna help me keep her safe or—“
“Yes,” they all drawl, and Kara quickly thanks them and hangs up before they can give her shit for asking.
When she turns her attention to Astra, who is still straddling her lap but sitting back now with a thoughtful look, she’s happy to find her aunt seems perfectly at ease despite all that just occurred. Still, Kara tucks her phone away and cups her cheeks, and when Astra blinks rapidly and meets her gaze she gives her a small smile. “So,” Kara says. “One last annoying question, precious omega.”
Astra narrows her eyes. “If you are going to ask if I want to trust the family you built or run away with you to another planet, little one, the first option is of course the one I choose.”
Kara makes a happy sound and leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss to her aunt’s lips before sitting back, still cradling her face. “Thank you, precious omega.”
Astra hums and reaches up, lightly touching the new bite adorning her throat before leaning forward and kissing Kara… less than chastely. When she sits back, she smiles. “It will be fun to see your life up close, beloved alpha.”
“It will be fun to be part of my life, you mean,” Kara corrects, darting forward and kissing her aunt’s cheek. She smiles when Astra flushes. “And from what I heard, my family has decided that as well, so now we both get to have aliens far weaker than us trying to keep us safe at every turn and succeeding more often than not.”
Astra’s nose wrinkles at that. “Your sister needs to stop joining you in the field, little one. She has nearly died far too often for a human her age.”
“I’m pretty sure Lena’s working on making suits for Alex and herself, so I don’t think we’ll convince her of that anytime soon, and my… uh, Lena will also be in the field.”
“Oh Rao,” Astra mutters.