The Adventures of Mega-Girl Ch. 01

Hermaphrodite nodded, "Yes, Dionysus crafted it eons ago. I forget why. I think he wanted to get mother drunk and seduce her."

"I'm still not following," Mega-Girl offered a confused expression, "Why are Apollo and Hermes chasing after the mask now?"

"Because she's coming to take you back to Hades."

"What!?" Mega-Girl swiftly stood from the chair. "Why?"

"Pluto was furious after you were stolen away from him," Hermaphrodite explained, "He fairly threatened Olympus with war, for Apollo broke an ancient treaty while rescuing you. Zeus, unwilling to war against his own brother, made a bargain with Pluto to trade you in return for peace. Zeus convinced Aphrodite to carry out your re-capture, knowing Apollo would be powerless to stop her. She is perhaps the only Olympian who has no fear of Apollo's might; he is as helpless against her Majesty as any other."

"He needs the mask to try and protect me," Mega-Girl finally understood.

"It would seem his love for you is true," Hermaphrodite made a teasing smile, "So romantic."

"That still doesn't explain your presence," Mega-Girl looked to her.

"That's simple to explain," Hermaphrodite pressed a button on the remote and looked delighted when Apollo's television sprang to life, "As Aphrodite's child, I carry her blood in my veins. Like all of her children I am immune to her Majesty. Father thought that might come in handy. Also, he needed my conduit to return here to the mortal plane." Hermaphrodite wiggled her finger, which contained a ruby ring, indicating it was one of the magical artifacts capable of traversing the planes – a conduit.

"I thought Zeus ordered all the conduits destroyed?" Mega-Girl asked, remembering what Hermes once told her.

"I'm sort of the black sheep of the family," Hermaphrodite lifted an uncaring shoulder, "Being ignored sometimes has its advantages."

"I should go to Greece," Mega-Girl decided, "Your father and my boyfriend tend to find trouble whenever they're together. They might need my help."

"They'll be fine. They said the mask was in a museum, or something. Should be easy to obtain. Apollo will probably teleport them back before you even get there."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Mega-Girl hated feeling helpless, "Just sit around and wait for your mom to show up? Why didn't Apollo tell me this was happening?"

Hermaphrodite figured out how to change channels and began cycling through programs, fascinated by the television. "It will take Aphrodite some time to find you. She'll be using Zeus' conduit, which will carry her to Britannia. Then she'll need to figure out a way to get here and locate you. It might take her several days. Apollo and Hermes thought it prudent to secure the mask now and fill you in later."

Mega-Girl sighed and sat back down, "I thought I was done getting hunted by Olympians. Your family is a real pain in the ass."

While it was evening in Gateway City, it was early morning in Athens. Apollo and Hermes stood outside the Acropolis Museum under a bright moon, dressed in plain clothes and standing on the far side of a wide concourse in front of the columned building. The shadows from a cluster of trees concealed their position.

Apollo felt weak and vulnerable without the sun, but their plan didn't involve him or his waning strength.

"We could really use your twin for a job like this," Hermes commented as they watched a patrolling security guard walk the perimeter of the museum.

"Thou art the patron of thieves," Apollo grunted at him ironically, "This should be child's play for thee."

"I'm just saying that Artemis' keen senses could be useful, there looks to be quite an active staff of guards and the last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves. If we end up on the front page of a newspaper for breaking into a museum, Aphrodite might know we have the mask. We'd lose the advantage."

"Thy speed will conceal thee," Apollo sounded confident.

Hermes nodded, "I'll just wait for this guard to take his coffee break."

The two stood quietly in the shadows for several moments before Apollo broke the silence, "What was she like?"

"Hm?" Hermes glanced at him.

"Aphrodite," Apollo clarified, "We've never spoken of it – thy affair with her."

"It was okay," Hermes downplayed it with a shrug.

Apollo gave him an annoyed expression, "Aphrodite's the most beautiful woman in existence. Gods and men have met true deaths attempting to prove worthy of her attentions."

"What do you want me to say?" Hermes defended his position, "I've had better."

Apollo growled, "Who?"

"Do you remember Ragnar's wife?" Hermes asked.

Apollo looked impressed, "Lagertha?"

Hermes nodded, "Nowshewas amazing in bed. I've always been fond of Nordic women..."

Apollo snorted, "Ragnar would have sailed his Viking army all the way to Greece if he knew of thy indiscretion."

"Perhaps," Hermes agreed, "But Ragnar was an idiot. A supremely talented warrior, but an idiot nonetheless." A smile suddenly decorated Hermes' boyish expression, "Do you remember the time when all of us were in Trondheim and Hephaestus got drunk? He fell into that vat of tomato paste which turned his beard bright red and Ragnar thought he was the Nord god Thor!"

Apollo smirked at the memory, "Aye. The heathens."

Hermes shook his head amusedly, "As though there could be any such thing as Norse gods. The very idea is ludicrous."

Apollo lifted his chin and indicated with a pointing finger, "Look, the guard is leaving. Now is thy moment."

To Apollo's eyes, it seemed as though Hermes simply vanished. No more than a second later he reappeared, an ancient and decorative mask in hand. A half second after that, an alarm sounded from the museum.

"They had it in a glass case rigged with an alarm," Hermes complained at the noise, "It was unavoidable."

Apollo nodded understandingly and grabbed Hermes' arm to teleport them back to Gateway City. "You did well, brother."

Hermes prepared himself to jaunt halfway around the world in an instant, "I just hope this thing actually works..."