How to Date a Superhero Ch. 04

The late night darkness was suddenly dispelled by a singular flash of brilliance. The light sizzled and expanded into a large sphere before exploding soundlessly and leaving two figures standing in the dewy grass of an endless and rolling meadow. Mega-Girl was in her red one-piece costume, wavy blonde hair falling to the middle of her back mingling with a plump duffle bag slung over her shoulder. Next to her was the imposing figure of Apollo, garbed in his gleaming armors of leather and gold. His spear was housed in a harness at his back and the bow of Minerva was secured there as well.

"Oh shit...!" Mega-Girl immediately doubled over and vomited onto the ground, the disorientation of teleporting halfway across the world disagreeing with her stomach.

Apollo glanced at her as though the reaction was not unexpected, "Thy nausea will pass quickly."

She spit out the last of her sickness and wiped a sleeve across her lips. "You could have warned me," she glared. Then, looking to her left, Mega-Girl spotted a collection of crumbling stone pillars arranged in a circle on the grassy plain.

"Wait, you teleported us to Stonehenge?" she asked, recognizing the ancient and famous British landmark.

"Aye," Apollo responded in a bland baritone voice. He began moving towards the massive stones.

Mega-Girl walked after him, "When you said you needed to take us to the conduit between planes I assumed it would be in Greece, or Rome?"

"When my father first traveled to this plane three thousand years ago he arrived here, in Britannia, at this very place. He constructed this arrangement of stones to carry him back. Their power has not faltered through the millennia and will serve us equally as well."

"You're saying Zeus is the one who created Stonehenge?"

Apollo glanced at her and nodded, "Aye."

She laughed ironically, "People have been trying to solve the puzzle of Stonehenge's origins for centuries and all this time you've known the truth?"

"There is much in the universe the mortals of this plane do not understand," Apollo moved towards the center of the stone pillars, "It is not my duty to enlighten them."

Mega-Girl ignored Apollo's elitist words, "Kind of risky coming here at night, isn't it? Given that you lose your powers when not in the sun?"

"I do not lose my powers in the darkness," Apollo countered defensively, "They are simply weakened."

"Probably for the best we came now," Mega-Girl commented as she stepped beside him, "This place must be crawling with tourists during the day. So how does this work... you speak a magic word and we suddenly teleport to the dimension of the gods? I'm not going to throw up again, am I?"

Apollo answered her by spreading his arms wide and closing his eyes. He began speaking in a language Mega-Girl didn't understand or recognize, though it sounded vaguely similar to what little Latin she had heard spoken. It wasn't but a few moments into Apollo's gesturing when filaments of white light began flowing out of Stonehenge's pillars towards the pair. Like tendrils crawling through the air they began to weave around Apollo and Mega-Girl, forming a sphere of light that eventually enveloped them completely.

There was a sudden and loud noise that began, like static, and Mega-Girl had to shout in order to hear her own voice. "What's happening?" she yelled, clutching at Apollo's muscled arm and shielding her eyes with a wrist against all-consuming light.

"Brace thyself!" he hollered back.

A crack of thunder erupted so loud that Mega-Girl feared it damaged her invulnerable ear drums. The sound came from outside the sphere of light, which was the only thing Mega-Girl could see. More intense sound followed, like a vacuum mixed with a blender. She tried yelling again but couldn't hear her own voice, so Mega-Girl simply clung to Apollo's arm and shut her eyes against the event.

A second clap of thunder sounded, heralding an end to the chaos. Mega-Girl heard other voices and opened her eyes to find herself standing on a cobblestone avenue, both of her arms curled around Apollo's broad bicep. The sun was bright in the sky and people dressed in fashions that appeared archaic were all looking and pointing at the pair. Mega-Girl didn't understand what they were saying but it was obvious that some of them recognized Apollo because she heard his name spoken amidst the gibberish.

"That was intense," she finally remarked.

"You can release thy sturdy grip," Apollo spoke quietly, "We have safely arrived within Olympus."

Mega-Girl blushed beneath her mask and released Apollo's arm, casting her gaze all around and noting the columned architecture of marble and stone buildings, wondering if she and Apollo had traveled back in time to ancient Greece. "This is unbelievable," she whispered.

Apollo looked around as well. "Little has changed in two thousand years," he noted.

"You haven't been back here in two thousand years?" Mega-Girl sounded surprised.

"My father and I had a disagreement."

"Must have been quite a disagreement," Mega-Girl commented dryly.

Apollo lifted a casual shoulder, "I prefer thy world."

The crowd around them began to grow, though they kept their distance from the pair. Mega-Girl noticed they looked no different from people on Earth, with equally varied tones of skin and hair color. The only difference was their clothing, which looked like something copied straight out of a period movie about gladiators.

"Come," Apollo took Mega-Girl's hand in his own, "We should find my brother, he has invited us to stay at his estate while conducting our business."

"Which one? Don't you have a bunch of brothers?"

"Aye, but Hermes is mine favorite."

A massive grin suddenly decorated Mega-Girl's face beneath her mask, "You're going to introduce me to Hermes? This is so cool."

=======

Travis knocked on the apartment door and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for someone to answer. He was dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a charcoal hoody that was soaked from rain, as he had walked from his dorm to the off-campus building.

"Travis?" Jordan looked surprised to see him after opening the door.

She was scantily clad in a pair of shorts and a baby-doll tee, her dyed burgundy hair clasped behind her in a long pony tail. Travis couldn't help but notice her shapely tan legs but reminded himself he was there to see Penny..

"What are you doing out in the rain?" she wondered in a concerned tone, "It's pouring outside!"

Travis pulled the hood off his head, revealing a mess of brown hair, "Tell me about it."

Jordan grabbed him by the wrist and pulled Travis inside, closing the door. "Take your hoody off," she ordered, "I'll find you a towel to dry off with."

Travis unzipped the cotton garment and hung it on a coat tree while Jordan briefly disappeared towards the apartment's bedroom hallway. He pushed a hand through his tousled hair trying to straighten it out.

Jordan returned with a big bath towel in hand and saw that Travis' tee shirt and jeans were soaked through as well. "Look at you," she worried, gesturing, "Take those off too."

Travis raised a brow.

"You don't need to be modest," she reminded, "I've already seen you in your underwear."

Travis recalled the morning he found Penny's Mega-Girl costume and grinned. He pulled his tee shirt over his head before kicking his shoes off and unbuttoning his pants.

Jordan cleared her throat at the sight of Travis' leanly muscled and smooth torso. She silently cursed the fact that her roommate had made a claim to such a sexy guy before she had a chance. "Here," she held out the towel, trading it for his wet clothes and trying not to look, "I'll go put your stuff in the dryer."

"I take it Penny's not here?" Travis ran the towel over his head first.

"She left yesterday," Jordan said, grabbing his dripping hoody as well.

"Left?" he wondered.

"I'll be right back, laundry's down the hall."

Travis nodded at her and continued to dry himself off. He was unsure what to do with the towel afterwards and decided to go to the bathroom and hang it over the shower curtain. As he walked out of the bathroom Jordan was returning as well.

She closed the door and secured a chain lock, "Your stuff should be dry in about twenty. So, what made you brave the weather? Did you come looking for Penny?"

"Yeah. You said she left last night? Where did she go?"

"That's a long story," Jordan exhaled, dropping herself onto an 'L' shaped couch where a pair of textbooks lay open on a nearby coffee table.

"Mega-Girl stuff?" Travis assumed.

"Yep," Jordan replied, closing her books and setting them aside. She didn't want to alarm Travis by telling him that his ex-girlfriend had run away to another dimension with a Greek god. Or was he Roman? Jordan could never remember.

Travis joined her on the couch, "When will she be back?"

"I'm not sure," Jordan answered honestly, "But I thought you guys broke up?"

"We did," Travis sighed, "But ever since I've been trying to figure out how to date a superhero. I mean, I've got to be a complete idiot for dumping Mega-Girl, right? Every guy in the world has got a crush on her."

"I don't think you're an idiot, Travis. Don't get me wrong, I love Penny to death, but it's difficult enough being her roommate. I worry about her all the time and I'm always wondering if some revenge-crazed super villain is going to suddenly crash through the wall and kill me."

Travis wondered, "Do you think you could date a superhero?"

Jordan shook her head, "No way. Not after finding out about all the crazy shit Penny has gotten herself into over the last year. But I'm not you; I'm frustratingly single. You're the one with a costumed ex-girlfriend, so the question really should be if you can date a superhero?"

"I don't know."

"Do you love her?"

Travis glanced at Jordan's simple question, "I don't know that, either. I was definitely falling for her really hard, but we didn't date that long."

"You seem like a really great guy," Jordan told him, her tone fond, "Which is why I'm going to tell you this... Penny was crushed after you broke up with her. I know she really likes you, so I'm pretty sure she'd want to get back together if you did."

"I'm just not sure."

Jordan looked confused, "Then why did you come over here?"

"To apologize," Travis answered, "For being so hard on her when we broke up. I was being really cold and kind of a dick. Plus, she's my lab partner and I'd really like to remain friends."

"Ouch," Jordan winced, "You came over to give her the 'let's be friends' speech?"

"Too soon?" Travis realized.

"Definitely too soon. I guess it's a good thing she wasn't here."

"Yeah," Travis agreed with a sigh, "Maybe you're right."

"Come on," Jordan rose, "I'll make you some hot chocolate while your clothes dry and then I can give you a lift back to campus."

"You have a car?"

Jordan winked at him, "Just one of my many fine qualities."

=======

Hermes spread his arms wide in greeting, "Brother! It is good to see you again so soon. And I see you brought your titan companion with you, as well."

Mega-Girl realized Hermes was talking about her as she walked beside Apollo into a garden atrium. She was surprised at his appearance because Hermes was the first person she had seen in Olympus who wasn't wearing a tunic or toga - he was dressed very casually in a pair of tan slacks, tennis shoes, and a windbreaker as though he had just arrived from somewhere on Earth. Also surprising was that he did not have any resemblance to his brother; Apollo was a thickly muscled man with bronzed skin and flowing blonde hair, but Hermes had an entirely common build, olive skin, and curly black hair.

When Hermes took her hand and kissed the back of it Mega-Girl couldn't help but blush.

"Welcome to Olympus," the messenger-god told her, "I am Hermes."

"Thank you," she smiled at his charm, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is, um, Mega-Girl."

"Cease thy flirtations," Apollo scowled jealously at his brother, "Mega-Girl did not come to Olympus to be wooed by thee."

"Of course not," Hermes acquiesced. He added with a wink, "Besides, she looks far better on your arm, brother."

Apollo grunted indifferently.

Mega-Girl smiled at their fussing over her.

"Come," Hermes beckoned, "I have supper waiting for us in my dining hall. We can eat while we discuss the true purpose for your visit."

Apollo nodded and placed his hand at the small of Mega-Girl's back before following Hermes. She didn't seem to mind his intimate touch.

"He speaks English," Mega-Girl whispered beside Apollo as they walked through the gardens, suddenly realizing Hermes was the first person in Olympus she could understand, "He doesn't even have an accent."

"Aye," Apollo replied in a private tone, "Many languages are known here in Olympus and mine brother is an expert linguist."

"He's so different from you," she pointed out with a smile.

Apollo grunted, "Different mothers."

Hermes led the pair through his grand home, a sizable structure of marble walls, columned entries, and tiled floors. His dining hall was smaller than Mega-Girl expected a 'hall' to be. It was more like a large room with a rectangular table that could seat a dozen. Various pieces of artwork hung in golden frames along with various pedestals holding vases and other sculptures.

"You have a beautiful home," Mega-Girl sat down after Apollo pulled a chair back for her near the head of the table. Hermes and Apollo waited to sit until she was settled; Hermes at the table's head to her right, Apollo to her left.

"It must be strange to your eyes," Hermes reasoned. "Antiquated."

"This whole city is strange," Mega-Girl agreed, "But beautiful. I never imagined traveling to another dimension would be possible, it's incredible. Very surreal."

Apollo lifted his mohawk helmet and sat it on the table beside him, "You should remove thy mask."

Mega-Girl glanced at him, "Really? Oh, um... am I being impolite?"

"Of course not," Hermes interjected, "It is just the three of us here, after all. No need to require any ceremony. But rest-assured your identity is not in jeopardy here, titan. No one is going to recognize you and Apollo and I are completely trustworthy."

Mega-Girl gave Hermes' smile a suspicious expression but decided he wasn't wrong, "I guess it is pretty silly to worry about protecting my identity when I'm in an entirely different dimension."

Both men watched as she removed her mask, letting her blue eyes shine as she smiled at them.

"Your beauty would challenge Aphrodite herself," Hermes complimented her, "Truly you belong here in Olympus, amongst us immortals. What a brood mare you would make! Gods would fight wars to possess you as a mother for their children."

Mega-Girl blushed at the compliment, even though she wasn't entirely sure she liked being compared to a 'brood mare'.

"My brother either has a silver tongue or a forked one," Apollo said with a glare towards Hermes, "But that does not mean he is incorrect."

"Thank you," she smiled, "Both of you."

It was uniquely liberating for Penny to be in a social situation as Mega-Girl and not have to hide behind a mask or force herself to act a certain way. In Olympus, so far from Earth and her potential enemies, she could simply be relaxed about her identity. She was enjoying herself immensely in the company of the two brothers. It was also flattering to be complimented by a god! It was obvious Hermes was attracted to her, but she also sensed Apollo was jealous of that fact. His jealousy pleased her for reasons she was afraid to contemplate.

Servants served the meal. It was an elaborate affair involving three courses, the first of which was a sweet salad and fruit. The main course was duck and lamb, along with a melody of vegetables. A fruity white wine lubricated the food well. While eating, Mega-Girl listened to the brothers tell stories of ancient days spent in Olympus, a smile decorating her face. Hermes was a delight to her, blessed with the gift of gab and able to craft a story better than anyone she had ever met. As the meal wore on even dour Apollo seemed to loosen his gruff façade; he even laughed at one of Hermes' tales, a sound Mega-Girl thought was magnificent coming from his baritone voice.

"...must understand, my dear, that no one had ever bested Hercules in combat," Hermes was saying as dessert was delivered - a delicious looking sweet cake. "The man is infuriatingly arrogant and an irritant to all of his siblings. But none of us dared lay a hand upon him because he carried father's favor. Hercules could do no wrong in the eyes of Zeus after he had stolen the girdle of Queen Hippolyta and brought it to Olympus."

Mega-Girl was grinning at the story and glanced at Apollo, "Who?"

"Hippolyta," Apollo clarified after swallowing some wine, "Queen of the Amazons. A bitch of a woman spawned from our brother, Ares."

"Hercules couldn't stop boasting of his achievements to anyone who would listen," Hermes continued, "And my fine brother here finally had enough."

"Oh no," Mega-Girl giggled at Apollo, buzzed from several glasses of wine, "What did you do?"

"Nothing the rest of the family didn't want to do," Apollo answered before pushing his cake away in favor of more wine.

Hermes laughed, "True enough. But only you would risk the ire of Zeus, brother." Hermes looked to Mega-Girl to explain, "We were engaged in a family dinner where Hercules was telling us all for the thousandth time how his strength and bravery had enabled him to obtain the girdle, when suddenly my brother here stood in front of all and labeled Hercules a braggart!"

Mega-Girl couldn't help but laugh, assuming that being called a braggart in Olympus was a serious insult. Her hand found Apollo's shoulder, a flirtatious touch.

"Hercules challenged Apollo to a wrestling match to prove his might in combat," Hermes' story continued, "Which he had to do once Apollo had questioned his honor, but Apollo wouldn't have it. Instead, Apollo leapt over the dinner table and began throttling Hercules to the ground, yelling 'Why wait to wrestle? Face me now!' as Hercules attempted a futile defense."

Mega-Girl gasped dramatically, pretending to be shocked, "You beat up your own brother at a family dinner?"

"Half-brother," Apollo clarified. "Hercules is a braggart, and an ass."

"Indeed," Hermes agreed, full of humor, "And he learned the difference between god and demi-god that day, I can tell you. But enough about Apollo and I. Tell us more about you, my dear. We can't keep calling you 'Mega-Girl', for example. You must have a given name?"

It was her instinct to keep such things secret, but Mega-Girl reminded herself where she was and who she was with. She had just dined with gods, after all; even if she did keep her identity secret from them she assumed they could discover it on their own if they needed to.

"My name is Penelope, but most people call me 'Penny' for short."

"And where did you obtain your remarkable abilities?" Hermes asked.

"I was born with them," Mega-Girl shrugged bonelessly, playing with her dessert by poking it with a fork, "As far as I know."

Hermes glanced at Apollo, who offered an indifferent shrug.

"What?" Mega-Girl caught the private glance between them.

"How old are you?" Hermes wondered curiously.

"Nineteen," she answered.

Hermes looked to Apollo again, "A mere babe."

"She's not mine," Apollo assured him, "And I'm unaware of any of our kin visiting Earth in the last few decades."

Mega-Girl finally caught on, "Are you suggesting I'm a demi-god? Half-god, half-mortal, like Hercules?"