313 - DC: The Infinite Villain (Patreon)

313 - Siobhan Takes Over

"What?" Lena stared at him, caught off guard.

"Make the arrangements. Wait for my call." Damon offered no explanation. A moment later, he disappeared.

"What is wrong with him?" Lena muttered. Irritated or not, she put her shoes on and got to work.

D.E.O. headquarters.

Damon's sudden arrival set off the alarms. Within seconds, agents rushed in from every direction.

Lucy Lane came out with her gun drawn. Alex had put on her armor. Supergirl was already airborne.

"Uh..."

"Stand down. False alarm." Lucy lowered her weapon when she recognized Damon and waved the agents back to their posts.

"You're back!"

Kara threw herself into his arms. Damon bent and kissed her.

Everyone nearby found a reason to look elsewhere.

When the kiss finally ended, Lucy and Alex approached. Kara held on to Damon's arm. "Are you staying this time?"

"No."

Her face fell. "How long do you have?"

"Not long. I came to pick up a couple of people. You can come with me if you're free."

Kara shook her head regretfully. She couldn't leave her duties behind.

"You're taking people to another Earth?" Lucy asked. "Who?"

"Lena Luthor. And you."

"Me?" Lucy blinked.

"Hand your work over to Alex for a while. Kara and I are stepping out. I'll come back for you later." Damon took Kara's hand and opened a shockwave breach to his apartment on Earth-38.

"Why are we here?" Kara asked.

"You."

"What?" She hadn't caught his meaning.

Damon drew her close and repeated himself in her ear. Kara flushed at once.

"You could be a little less direct."

"I'm leaving tonight. Are you sure you want me to take my time asking?"

"The bed," Kara said, making up her mind.

Before long, the apartment was anything but quiet.

That was an understatement, judging by the room afterward.

The bed had collapsed, its frame broken into pieces. Cracks ran along the wall where they'd struck it. The room looked as if a storm had passed through. After so long apart, neither of them had held back much. Given what they could do, it was a wonder the building was still standing.

"You've gotten stronger," Kara murmured as she rested against him. "I could barely keep up."

Damon took the admission as a compliment.

"I did hold back," he said with a grin. "Otherwise I'd have had you crying for mercy."

Diana was strong too, but she always pushed back and rarely admitted defeat. Kara sometimes took the lead, yet she would eventually beg for mercy. Damon found that difference gratifying; he liked the sense of conquest.

"When do you have to go?" Kara asked, reluctant to move.

"Later. I still need to see someone. Next time, come with me. Or I can bring your mother here to stay with you for a while."

"All right. I'll head back to the D.E.O. Call me." Kara hated leaving so soon, but Lucy's departure would leave Alex with extra work. Damon could cross between worlds easily enough; this didn't have to feel like a long goodbye.

After Kara left, Damon contacted Samantha Arias and Siobhan Smythe. Samantha, whose Reign persona resembled Caitlin's condition, could give the research team a Kryptonian comparison. Siobhan was a different matter. Damon had lost interest in her before, but she'd made herself useful.

She had worked hard with her stake in CatCo Worldwide Media and had established herself there. She clearly intended to climb higher.

Damon thought that deserved a reward. Women needed attention, he told himself. Talia's interest in him wasn't only about the bargain that had saved her life or her ambitions; she had seemed to want him in bed as well. He made the same assumption about Siobhan.

He hadn't sought her out in some time, but he saw no reason not to now.

Not long afterward, someone came to the apartment.

It was Siobhan.

With her blond hair and tailored office clothes, she carried herself differently than he remembered. Damon found his interest returning.

He had told Kara he'd held back with her. He had.

Siobhan stopped short at the sight of the ruined bedroom. She understood why he'd called. She didn't object; keeping a connection with him meant opportunity, and she wanted that connection.

Neither had much to say.

Siobhan took Kara's place in the bedroom, and they had sex.

Less than twenty minutes later, Siobhan was begging him to stop. Damon frowned, frustrated.

He realized he couldn't treat an ordinary woman's limits as if they were Kara's.

"Enough. Stop shouting," Damon muttered. He got up and went to shower. By the time he returned, Siobhan seemed to have recovered a little.

She showered too, then came into the living room. Aware of his disappointment, she didn't take the sofa. She sat near his feet instead.

"What do you want?" Damon asked without looking at her for long.

"You've already given me enough," Siobhan said.

He scoffed. "Last chance. Tell me what you want."

She hesitated and lowered her gaze. "Whatever you decide to give me."

"You'll take anything? Is that greed?" Damon considered her, then conjured an orange power ring. "Let's see how greedy you really are, and whether you're fit for the Rainbow Corps."