A Place for Us All to Belong

[Author's note:

Lily

has recruited

Kayla

into a new adventure. They have been given the

power of free will

, able to break through the fourth wall and jump from story to story, to go anywhere. After making a pact in the

Meta Cafe

they have escaped out of their own story worlds and into the unknown, determined to write their own endings.

But each story universe they visit has its own rules. Kayla's universe allows mind control, other universes allow people to be turned into sex dolls, or live like billionaires, or on spaceships or in the perfect female society. And now, Lily and Kayla are in the middle of it all. They're going to go everywhere.]

---

ALPHATWO

"This is so weird," Kayla muttered.

They had taken a little outside table at a café on a leafy avenue in the central Downtown district. Lily shrugged.

"As compared to what, Kay? Living in an artificial universe?"

The waitress brought over their coffees. Lily smiled up at her.

"Anything else you're waiting on?" the waitress asked.

"No, thank you," Lily replied.

On the next table, two older women were chatting animatedly, laughing together.

"It's a nice place," Lily remarked. "You just feel safe, right?"

Kayla sipped her coffee dubiously before replying, "I'm just not sure how everything works here."

"We'll find out. That's part of the fun of all this, turning up in a new place and working out its rules."

"But what are we doing here, Lil?"

"Exploring. Can you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"I dunno, I imagine you'd be able to feel something different here."

"Like what?" Kayla asked, shrugging. "Like there's some little light that goes on?"

"Something like that. You can feel your abilities, right?"

Kayla placed her cup down. Her attention strayed to the women walking along the street nearby.

"Yeah, Lil, I can feel it," Kayla confessed at last.

Lily cackled, drumming her fingers on the table.

"I knew it. So, if you have your abilities, we can really have some fun. I knew this place allowed mind control, look at it. There's no way on earth this would happen otherwise."

"You mean all this?" Kayla replied gesturing to a set of girls in exercise wear as they cycled by.

"A perfect society, Kay."

Kayla snorted and shot her friend a look.

"Seriously, you're really saying that? I know what you're like, Lil, you wouldn't last five minutes if you actually had to live here."

"Why not?" Lily replied, folding her arms.

"Seriously, you? Here? In a place without any men?"

---

The Cantor Street Parenting Clinic was situated in an affluent suburb close to the city centre, a grand sandstone two-storey building set back from the busy street in its own grounds. The upper floor was wrapped around with an external balcony of white-painted wrought iron, hosting little clusters of chairs and low tables. They could see a couple of women chatting as they walked up to the front doors.

Inside, the polished dark wood floors gleamed, the sound of their high heels ringing out in the vaulted entry space. A young girl sat behind a wooden desk to one side. Lily approached her.

"We're here to see Ms. Reque," Lily said.

The young girl gave her a smile. "I'll let her know. If you'd like to take a seat...?"

Lily dipped into her handbag and extracted a little leather wallet, flipping it open for the receptionist to read.

"No, we'll go straight up."

The receptionist's smile faded. She glanced over at Kayla and then back to Lily.

"Could you take us there now, please?" Lily pressed.

"Uh, yes, ma'am," the receptionist replied quickly, getting up from her seat. "This way please."

They were led up the grand central staircase and along the corridor to a set of wooden doors at the end. The receptionist hesitated and then knocked timidly. There was a pause.

"Yes?" came a woman's voice from the other side.

The receptionist opened the door a crack and poked her head into the room.

"Visitors to see you, Ms. Reque."

"Do they have an appointment?"

The receptionist turned to them, her eyes dancing nervously between Lily and Kayla. Lily just nodded, reaching around the startled girl to push the door open.

"Thank you," Lily said to her, then brushed past into the office beyond.

Kayla followed, turning to close the door on the wide-eyed receptionist.

"I'm sorry, I don't..."

An elegant woman with long dark hair and golden-brown skin had risen from behind her desk and was staring at them.

"Ms. Reque," Lily began, "Nooma, isn't it?"

The woman gaped at them, then seemed to collect her wits. "Yes," she replied. "How can I help you?"

"Please, take a seat," Lily replied, indicating her desk chair.

Kayla and Lily settled into chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Nooma seated herself, folding her hands together on the desk, watching the newcomers silently.

"Do you know why we're here?" Lily asked.

"No."

"Ah. It always goes better if you're upfront with us. Let me ask you again."

"I really have no idea. I run an excellent facility, I've never had any problems. Our reporting is up to date."

"And yet, we're here in your office, Nooma. You don't mind me calling you Nooma do you? My name's Lily. This is Dr. Dane, or you can call her Kayla if you prefer. I think it all goes more smoothly if we're on first names. It engenders trust."

"What are you here for?" Nooma asked.

The older woman was giving nothing away, studying the women opposite her.

"As I said, it's better if you help us. If we have to ask all the questions, our findings might be less favourable. It's always better if we work together."

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what you're talking about. I run the facility to the highest level of..."

"Your wife. Her name's Hannah, isn't it?"

Nooma froze, staring back at Lily.

"Hannah?" Lily prompted.

"Yes. But I don't see what my wife has to do..."

"Really? After all, she's your wife. You've been married now for how long?"

"Five years," Nooma replied, but her voice was lower now. "What does Hannah have to do with anything?"

"Five years," Lily mused. "Happy together?"

"Yes. Very."

"She's a little younger than you, though."

"Six years. It's not a big gap."

"I see."

Lily nodded, crossing her legs and taking a moment to adjust the drape of her skirt over her knees.

"I imagine that's why she's the one undergoing the treatment, being younger," Lily remarked casually. "You must have talked about that."

"We both talked about it. We both want children. It came down to a choice between which of us wanted to take the time away from our careers."

"And I imagine Hannah volunteered, given that you'd be the breadwinner in your family with your position here as Director?"

"She's always wanted children. She talked me into the idea."

"Which is ironic, since you're the one who's running a parenting clinic."

"Why is that ironic?"

"Your job is making babies, I'd have thought it might trigger the maternal instinct sooner or later."

"That's very..."

Lily waved a hand, cutting Nooma off, and continued, "A younger wife. I understand you'd been single for a long time before that point. I imagine Hannah coming into your life made you very happy."

"It did. It does, we're very happy together. What's this all about?"

"Would you say that her happiness is the most important thing to you?"

Nooma paused, the irritation at the line of questioning giving way to something else.

"Yes," she replied, the word barely escaping her lips.

Kayla could see the fear in the older woman's eyes. Lily merely contemplated her victim, letting the silence lengthen. Nooma drew herself up straighter.

"As I said, I have nothing to hide. I'd like to know why you're here. What have I done that warrants a visit from the department?"

"Oh, this isn't the standard departmental visit. We're not from the department."

"Then where are you from?"

"Internal Services."

Lily's words were crisp, clipped. Nooma paled.

"Now, back to your wife," Lily continued, smoothly, "Tell us how long you've been trying for a child."

"That's none of your..." Nooma replied, her calm demeanour cracking at last.

"It's entirely our business, Nooma. It's why we're here. Please, let's just get the unpleasantness out of the way and then we can work towards a solution."

"But I don't know what it is you're asking," Nooma snapped.

Lily paused, surveying the older woman closely. She leaned forward, emerald eyes glinting. Nooma remained silent. Eventually, Lily reclined, seeming to relax.

"You know what, Nooma? I think I believe you. You really have no idea why we're here do you?"

"No. I do not. Like I keep saying..."

Lily held up a hand and Nooma fell silent.

"Why don't we have a little tour of your facilities?" Lily suggested.

"As you wish."

Clearly still rattled, Nooma rose from her chair, directing the two women to the doors. Lily allowed the older woman to lead them back along the corridor and down the stairs towards the rear of the facility. They came to a door. Nooma tapped her pass and it clicked open.

"As you can see, everything here is monitored," Nooma called over her shoulder.

Her tone had changed, becoming more assured again as she recovered from the unexpected intrusion of the two women into her morning routine. They stepped through into a wide white corridor, stopping in front of a floor-to-ceiling tinted glass panel.

Through the glass, they could see an apartment. It was furnished with couches and a large entertainment unit. Nooma led them up a set of stairs to a corridor that ran above. There was another tinted panel, through which they could see a bathroom. The glass was partially obscured with steam, but through the haze they could make out a figure in the shower. Nooma folded her arms over her chest, and smiled.

"Here he is. This is Alphatwo."

The shower cut off and a man stepped out, his naked body dripping with water. He reached out for a towel and began to dry himself off, standing directly in front of the glass panel now. Alphatwo was tall, broad and thickly muscled, with a crop of short blonde hair and golden skin. Kayla took in the sight of him, her gaze shifting down from his face to his pectorals, his contoured abdominals, finally to the thick forest of hair around his genitals. He rubbed his chest with the towel, then wrapped it around his shoulders, staring directly at them.

"Don't worry, he can't see us. It's mirrored," Nooma told them.

Alphatwo ran his fingers through his hair and turned away.

"He's just serviced a client. We like to restrict him to one a day for optimum semen quality."

The man on the other side of the mirror was brushing his teeth now. He turned back to them, fussing with his damp hair. Kayla approached the glass, drawn to the vision of the naked, hulking figure on the other side. His eyes were blue, and somehow kindly, sparkling. He had a square face, handsome in a rugged, offhand way. There was the faint silver line of a scar over his Adam's apple.

"He's impressive, isn't he?" Nooma murmured. "We selected for the physical archetype, but his IQ is also one-ten. He's twenty-nine, so there's at least another three years of yield left in him before we need a replacement. Our clients are very pleased with the outcome."

"As is your wife," Lily replied.

Nooma's expression hardened.

"Speaking of which, is she available to meet with us?"

"When?"

"Ideally, now."

"I really need to understand what this is all about."

"You will, Nooma. Now, would your wife be able to drop by? We should do this all together, I think."

Lily regarded the older woman coolly. Nooma nodded.

"Of course. Her work's only ten minutes away. I'll call her."

"Thank you. Now, do we have somewhere we can talk?"

"My office?"

Lily gave her a smile. "Perfect."

---

There was a knock on the office door and it opened to reveal the receptionist accompanied by a young woman with freckles on a pretty face, red hair tucked carefully behind her ears. She hesitated and then caught sight of Nooma.

"Come in," Nooma said to her, then turned to Lily and Kayla. "This is Hannah, my wife."

Hannah was a full head shorter than Kayla, a tiny waif of a thing. Lily towered over her.

"Hannah," Lily smiled, "Good of you to come at such short notice."

"Oh course. Nooma said it was important, so I..."

"Would you like to take a seat?" Lily interjected, indicating one of the chairs opposite the desk.

"Uh, sure. Nooma, what is this all...?"

"We'll get to that Hannah. It's the reason we're here."

They each took a seat and Lily paused, crossing her legs and surveying the newcomer. Hannah's gaze flicked nervously between her wife and Lily.

"Before we begin, is there something you'd like to say?" Lily asked, waving a hand breezily. "Clear the air?"

"I... I, no. I don't think so."

Lily frowned, becoming regretful. "Oh."

The silence lengthened, until Lily eventually broke it herself.

"I see. Well, let's get down to it then, shall we? Nooma, you did say that this facility is fully monitored."

Nooma nodded slowly.

"Could you bring up a feed on your screen if I gave you a timestamp?"

"I suppose. I'd need a minute."

"Last Tuesday, six thirty."

Nooma turned to her screen, tapping on the keyboard nervously.

"Main procedure room," Lily intoned.

Nooma's hands froze.

"You do have the feed?" Lily enquired.

"Yes, I do."

"We'd like to view it. Quick as you can, Nooma."

The Director resumed her work, tapping on the keyboard and then leaned back.

"Could you turn the screen so we can all take a look?" Lily suggested.

Slowly, Nooma swivelled her screen around to show the others. She hit play.

At first, nothing happened. On screen, the procedure room remained empty, its central chair unoccupied. To one side there was a couch, upholstered in some kind of faux leather. Then, there was movement on the righthand side: Alphatwo stepped through a doorway, naked, approaching the chair.

"Was he scheduled?" Lily asked. "I imagine it's pretty late in the day for a procedure."

"No," Nooma murmured, her attention fixed on the recording of the naked man on the screen.

Alphatwo sat himself down in the seat, reaching down to flip the metal cuffs around his ankles. He placed his wrists on the armrests, sliding them into a second pair of metal cuffs that seemed to clip into place automatically. He tensed his body, seeming to test out his restraints, but they held him firmly in place in the chair.

"What usually happens next, could you talk me through it?" Lily asked the Director.

Nooma hesitated, struggling to understand what she was seeing. Lily's words seemed to rouse her from her thoughts.

"Uh, when the male is secured, then a technician escorts in the recipient. She prepares the extraction device and seats it over the male's, uh, genitals, while the recipient lies down on the couch."

"And then?"

"After the donation has been extracted, the technician extracts a sample via pipette and introduces it into the recipient's, uh, vagina."

"Efficient. No requirement for penetration."

"None. We've done away with the unpleasantness."

"Tell me something. How do you ensure the recipient only bears daughters?"

"Pardon?"

"I imagine a son would be a waste of time," Lily replied smoothly.

"Oh yes, quite. The sample is pre-screened by the device."

"Only sperm with X chromosomes?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"I see, and how reliable is it?"

"Almost a hundred percent."

Lily paused for a moment, drawing back in her seat. On screen, Alphatwo waited patiently for whatever was going to happen next.

"Almost?" Lily echoed. "So there's a chance?"

"It's a very remote possibility. But we have screening during the first weeks of the pregnancy as a safeguard."

"Ah, good. So if a boy sperm got through, you could just deal with it then?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Nooma frowned again, replying, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, an unwanted male birth. How would you deal with it?"

Nooma was silent again. Hannah squirmed in her chair, clearly terrified, her eyes not leaving the playback of the procedure room.

"Well, if we're in need of a replacement for an ageing alpha, we can make arrangements for the pregnancy to be taken to term. The child then enters the breeding programme."

"Or?"

"Or, we terminate."

"No point having excess males," Lily nodded, as if in agreement.

"Quite."

There was motion on the screen, and all of their attention was drawn to it. A woman entered the room from a door on the left. She was on her own, a petite woman with red hair. Nooma gasped.

"Unscheduled," Lily noted, dispassionately.

On screen, Hannah crossed the floor to the chair, standing now in front of the restrained, naked man.

"Hannah, what?" Nooma breathed.

Hannah didn't respond, staring at herself on the little screen.

The woman in the recording began to strip off, removing her dress and then her underwear, folding it neatly on a table before coming back to stand in front of Alphatwo, now as naked as he was.

"Please," Nooma gasped, "Can I have some privacy with my wife?"

"I'm sure you have a lot to discuss, but we need to get to the end of this," Lily told her.

On screen, Hannah reached out, running a hand across the chest of the seated man, her attention drawn to the space between his legs and the unfurling of his erection. She didn't touch it though, her hands finding his wrists instead. There was a pause and suddenly his hands were free. Hannah knelt down between his legs, tugging on his ankle restraints, opening them too.

"Hannah, what were you thinking?" Nooma asked, aghast.

"I'm sorry, hon," Hannah replied in a tiny voice.

"He was unrestrained. You were naked. You didn't even have the panic button. He could have killed you."

"Nooma..."

"Hannah, he could have killed you."

"But he didn't."

On the screen, Alphatwo got up from his seat, placing his hands on Hannah's shoulders. He dwarfed her petite frame, but he paused. Kayla could see the terror in the Director's face as she watched the man she kept contained in a secure apartment behind toughened one-way glass bend down to the face of the waif in front of him and give her a tender kiss. His massive arms encircled her, and suddenly Hannah was hoisted into space, her feet dangling above the ground. Enfolded in his embrace, she was completely at his mercy. Kayla heard a stifled noise from the Director that might have been a sob, but she didn't look away from the screen.

Alphatwo carried Hannah over to the couch and laid her down gently, allowing her to settle even as he positioned himself over her. She looked up at him and he bore down. Nooma's hand darted forward, stabbing a key.

"That's enough," she hissed. "You've seen what you came for, right?"

Her eyes flashed angrily, staring first at Lily and then at Kayla. Frozen on the screen, just large enough to be discerned, was the face of the Director's wife, eyes closed, beneath the shoulder of the man above her.

"I think we have," Lily agreed.

"Then, can I please have a little time in private with my wife?"

Nooma's expression was icy, furious. Lily considered the request for a moment, and then nodded. She got up from her chair and Kayla followed her out of the room. As Kayla closed the Director's office door, she heard female voices, raised, on the other side.

"Our work here is done," Lily murmured, a little smile on her lips.

Kayla blinked, rounding on her. "Uh, what?"

"We've subverted the storyline. So much for the infallible Gynarchy."