How to Date a Superhero Ch. 05

"We use the names given to us by our parents," Apollo explained, "Minerva is my sister's given name. The Roman's honored that, but the Greeks called her 'Athena' - a name they thought more fitting. In time many of my siblings grew accustomed to it and used both names during their time on Earth. Understand, my relatives grew drunk from mortal worship and allowed them many liberties. Though we gained no power from their worship, as the mortals once believed, many among us craved the adulation. It became a contest among us, to see who could amass the most followers or have the most temples erected in our honor."

Mega-Girl listened with rapt attention, fascinated by Apollo's history, "What about you? Did you crave their worship?"

"I was no different in that regard. But unlike my fellows I learned to respect the mortals. I admire them. Mortals are doomed to fleeting lives, yet they conquer relentlessly. They seek knowledge and craft technologies Olympus will never know. Because they know their time is short, they grasp for as much as they possibly can before their time ends. My people will never feel that urgency and are forever stuck in their antiquated ways."

To a casual observer Apollo could appear to be nothing more than a gruff and arrogant warrior, but Mega-Girl felt as though she were learning differently. She was seeing a glimpse of Apollo's intellectual side and it drew her closer to him. She finally understood why he had chosen to live among mortals rather than become stuck in the mire of his fellow Olympians, never moving forward. She respected him for it, because she had also learned the cost he paid for his choices.

"Maybe someday Artemis will see us mortals as you do," she offered hopefully, "And then you won't have to be apart from your sister."

As if on cue, Artemis appeared in the doorway before Apollo could reply.

"Hermes has returned," she announced, "We should make haste in our travels."

Mega-Girl put her mask on and grabbed her duffle, "Let's go home."

The foursome gathered in a walled garden-courtyard at the back of Hermes' estate. The messenger-god was holding Neptune's trident, a wooden-shafted weapon with a three-pronged end forged in gold and encrusted with shelled jewels. It was hard to imagine that anyone could miss such an ornate weapon for very long, but Mega-Girl trusted Hermes knew what he was doing; he was the patron of thieves, after all.

Hermes instructed the trio to stand close together, "Where would you like me to send you?"

"Gateway City," Apollo replied, slipping an arm around Mega-Girl's waist.

Mega-Girl winked, "I'm going to miss you, Hermes."

"I'm sure we'll see each other soon enough, Penelope." Hermes lifted Neptune's trident and held it aloft horizontally, pointing it towards Apollo, Mega-Girl, and Artemis.

White tendrils of light flowed from the weapon to envelop them in the same manner that occurred at Stonehenge, forming a cocooning bubble until Mega-Girl lost sight of Hermes and his courtyard surroundings. She curled her arm around Apollo's, using him as an anchor and closing her eyes against the bright light and chaotic sounds of inter-dimensional travel. It felt as though the world turned upside-down for a moment and Mega-Girl's stomach entered her throat. Her clinging grip on Apollo's arm tightened and she felt him grasp her tightly against his side.

And then, just as swiftly as their prior trip, it was over. Mega-Girl opened her eyes to find they were standing in the center of Byrne Park, the distant skyscrapers of Gateway City rising around them in all directions beyond the park's greenery.

Artemis' eyes were filled with surprised curiosity as she spun to view the afternoon skyline, "By Hades, the mortal world has changed!"

Apollo chuckled, "Indeed."

"I should get home," Mega-Girl told Apollo, kissing his cheek before stepping out of his embrace. "I need to let my roommate know I'm home."

"Roommate?" Apollo lifted a brow.

"Yeah," she smiled at him, "Rent is expensive and I'm a broke university student. I'll catch up with you two at your place, okay?"

Artemis watched as Mega-Girl flew into the air, jetting southwards before disappearing over the tree line, "Have all mortals learned to fly?"

"Some. Penelope is special, unique among mortals."

"She's a child," Artemis scolded him, "She clings to you like a lost pup."

Several daytime park-goers were already starting to point and gather, noticing the strangely garbed people.

"...was that Mega-Girl...?"

"...she's not dead...?"

"...holy shit, that's Apollo...!"

Apollo paid little heed towards the bystanders and moved to take Artemis into his arms, "I did not ask for thy romantic council, sister, nor do I want it."

Ignoring her brother's cold rebuff, Artemis put her hands around Apollo's neck as he rose into the air. She was unable to fly as he could, "Do you remember when we were children and you used to fly me through the skies of Olympus?"

"Aye," he flew gently, giving Artemis a true view of Gateway City.

"By our father's beard," she whispered at the spectacular vantage afforded by Apollo's flight, "The mortals have built a city beyond imaginings!"

It took less than a pair of minutes for Apollo to reach the balcony of his condominium at the Keppler Building. He set Artemis down and pulled the sliding glass door open, which was left unlocked.

"This is your dwelling?" Artemis looked impressed as she regarded the inner furnishings.

Apollo set his helmet on a circular dining table, "One of them. I keep several. Humanity spans the globe, now. Civilization has filled all the dark corners."

"How far are we from Rome?" she wondered, running a hand over the table's smooth finish as she followed her twin.

Apollo led her past the kitchen and down a short hallway, "The other side of the world."

"What of my temple in Ephesus?" she asked curiously, referencing one of the seven ancient wonders.

"Ruins," Apollo remarked blandly, "Along with the city."

"A pity," she frowned, following Apollo into his bedroom.

He opened a closet door to slide a plastic hamper out, picking through its contents. "Here," he declared, offering Artemis a puffy-looking grey towel, "Her scent should be strong upon this."

Artemis took the thing, "You bring me to your home and fail to offer me any food or wine? You've become a poor host, Apollo."

"You greeted me at your hall with a drawn bow," he reminded, unconcerned with his sister's criticisms.

"A fair point," she conceded, lifting the towel to her face and smelling it. A look of disgust immediately overcame Artemis' face and she turned her head away from it, "What foul trickery...!?"

Apollo's eyes narrowed.

"You told me the woman was mortal!" Artemis cast the towel to the floor.

"Aye?" Apollo looked confused.

"The scent upon that is demonic," Artemis informed him, her face looking as though she had tasted sour milk.

Though centuries had passed since he last saw her, Apollo knew his twin better than any other. Her senses were keener than any animal's. She could see to the horizon, hear a flea landing on a blade of grass from miles away, and track a creature by smell days after its passing. She was the ultimate huntress; an inescapable tracker. If she claimed Lauren Smith's scent to be demonic, Apollo trusted it to be true.

"That would explain how she beguiled me so easily," Apollo growled.

"She appeared human?"

He nodded.

"A shape shifter," Artemis decided, "Tricky creatures."

"You can track it?" Apollo asked, assuming she could.

Artemis didn't answer him, instead walking out of the bedroom. Apollo followed as she strode through his apartment to the balcony doors. Once outside Artemis stepped to the railing and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose.

Apollo watched her silently.

"This world has grown polluted," Artemis' face scrunched up with distaste. Her chest expanded as she sucked in another deep breath, her nostrils flaring. Her head turned towards the direction of the descending sun, "The creature is to the west."

"How far?" Apollo asked impatiently.

"Not far," she guessed, "It's somewhere in the city." Artemis glanced downward, "I need to be at ground level to properly track the thing, how do I exit this monstrosity of a building?"

"An elevator. I can accompany thee."

"No," Artemis grunted, "I hunt better alone. I'll find you once I locate the creature's domain."

=======

Jordan felt Travis' hand up her tight baby doll tee and didn't dissuade him from pawing at one of her breasts through the lacy bra she was wearing. They had been on the couch making-out for the better part of an hour and their passion had grown by the minute. She couldn't tear her lips from his and loved the feeling of his tongue inside her mouth. But then she heard something and had to literally push against Travis' chest in order to untangle their embrace.

"Did you hear that?" she asked breathlessly.

"Hear what?" Travis didn't sense anything, his brown spiky hair all messed up from Jordan running her fingers through it.

"It sounded like it came from -"

Penny's bedroom door opened and out Mega-Girl stepped, from where she had flown in through a window. Still wearing her costume, she had only taken the mask off.

Travis leapt off the couch from where he was sitting, which was practically on top of Jordan. He wiped a forearm across his lips in case any of her lipstick was staining his mouth.

Mega-Girl froze with shock when she spotted the couple. She noted the guilty expressions on both of their faces, though she had already guessed what was going on after seeing them nestled on the couch together.

"Penny..." Jordan stood with considerably less haste than Travis, pushing a hand through her disheveled hair, "You're back."

Both Jordan and Travis could see the hurt in Mega-Girl's face. Her mouth fell slightly open and her eyes looked betrayed.

"Shit," Jordan cursed, realizing there would be no hiding the fact that she was just making-out with Travis, "Penny, I'm so sorry..."

Mega-Girl shook her head, tears welling up around the bottoms of her eyes, "Don't! I don't want to hear it."

Travis simply stood there, not knowing what to say.

Jordan felt awful, "Penny, please, let me explain..."

"Is this why you dumped me?" Mega-Girl glared towards Travis, "Everything you told me in your dorm room was just bullshit! Wasn't it? You just liked my best friend better than me!"

"N-no," Travis stammered, "Penny, it's not like that, I swear!"

"Go to hell, Travis!" Mega-Girl turned, putting the mask back on over her tears.

Jordan hurried after her roommate, moving around the L-shaped couch and rushing into the bedroom. But Mega-Girl was already gone, leaving only an open window behind.

Travis followed Jordan into the room, hoping to explain himself. "Crap," he said when he saw the window.

"Jesus," Jordan exhaled heavily, placing a hand to her forehead. "What did we do, Travis?"

=======

Apollo had removed his armors and replaced them upon the mannequin by the entrance. He stood in his kitchen bare chested, fresh from a shower, wearing only a pair of billowy cotton bottoms as he poured himself a drink of bourbon. He poured another after swallowing the first with one toss and then carried the drink to his spacious living room to light a fire in a massive brick fireplace.

The flames had just begun to crackle when he heard something from behind.

"Penelope," he greeted as Mega-Girl walked through the open balcony door. She still had her duffle bag from their trip to Olympus slung over one shoulder.

She yanked her mask off with a frustrated gesture, hating the fact that she had to wear it again now that they were home from Olympus. Her eyes were red and the hint of blush on her cheeks was stained with the path of tears. "I'm sorry," she sniffed and dropped her bag to the carpeted floor, "I didn't know where else to go."

Apollo set his drink down and approached, "You do not have to apologize for coming here, t'was our plan. What has upset thee?"

She eagerly stepped into his embrace and hugged herself against Apollo's muscled torso, "My stupid ex-boyfriend is sleeping with my stupid roommate."

"You caught them together?"

Mega-Girl nodded against his bare chest, comforted by his wrapping arms.

"Do you want me to go throttle the miscreant?"

"No," she sniffled cutely.

"This former mate of yours, you still desire him?"

Mega-Girl looked up at him, "No, of course not. He dumped me. And he lied about why. He said it was because he didn't think he could date a superhero, but the truth is he just wanted to fuck Jordan. He's an asshole. But I'm angrier at her, to be honest. How could Jordan do that to me?"

"Thy friends are honorless betrayers." Apollo pushed a wave of her blonde hair behind an ear and used his thumb to wipe a tear off her cheek, "Abandon them."

"I can't. I live with one of them. Where would I go?"

"Stay here," he shrugged, thinking the solution simple.

Mega-Girl let out a humorless laugh, "You want me to move in with you? Isn't that a little hasty?"

"You are my lioness, are you not?"

"Well yeah, but... Apollo, you don't know my last name. We've never even gone out on a date. How do you expect us to live together when we've barely known each other for three days!?"

Apollo snorted, "Trivials."

Mega-Girl stepped away from him and placed her fists on her hips, "That's not trivial!"

"Three days or three centuries," Apollo spread his muscled arms, "It matters little. Does knowing thy surname give some manner of insight into the heart of Penelope? I say thee nay. I know thee, Penelope. I have tested thy mettle and shared thy bed. Thy beauty and courage put even Hermes' queer sensibilities to the test. Thou art my lioness, a titan among mortals!"

Mega-Girl blinked towards Apollo's passion.

"I would smite a thousand demons and slay a thousand more to prove my affection for thee," Apollo finished. "Aye, offering my domain bodes trivial in comparison."

"Wait," Mega-Girl murmured, breathless from Apollo's words, "Did you say Hermes is gay?"

"Aye," he shrugged indifferently, "Mine brother often prefers the company of men."

Mega-Girl laughed, a bright sound, and rushed forward to embrace Apollo and kiss him. "No one's ever said anything so beautiful to me before," she murmured against his lips.

"I am glad," he murmured back, "Words too often fail me."

Mega-Girl wanted to give herself to Apollo fully. There was something about him that made her want to let go of her inhibitions, spread her legs, and let him claim her as though she were his possession. It was a carnal emotion that he inspired within her that was begging to be marked as his territory.

"Your words have won me," she countered, her hand slipping into his loose pants and grasping his cock. "Take me. Like you took me in Olympus."

Apollo needed no further prompting, his hands wrapping around her and grasping her ass. He lifted her by her rump.

"Wait," she suddenly remembered Artemis, "Where's your sister?"

"Hunting," he replied, carrying her to the dining table near the balcony doors and sitting her on its polished surface. After pushing his pants off, Apollo grasped at the skin tight fabric of her costume and began ripping it from her body, seeing it as the swiftest way to remove the garment.

Without the costume she wasn't Mega-Girl. She was Penny. Blonde haired and blue eyed Penny. She didn't have to hide from Apollo, she didn't have to wear a mask or conceal herself behind an illusionary ring. He didn't care about secret identities, where she came from, or what she did prior to meeting him. To Apollo she was simply 'Penelope'. A lioness. His lust for her was liberating, intoxicating, and Penny wanted to become drunk from it.

A moan escaped her lips when she felt his immense member pushing between her thighs. She spread her legs to aid his entrance and wrapped her arms around his neck, eagerly clinging against his magnificent torso as he enveloped her in the castle of his arms.

"Uhh!" she gasped when Apollo buried his cock inside her sex with a single thrust, her mouth opening wide at the sensation of complete penetration.

"You belong to me now," he whispered against her ear.

Penny clamped her arms around him tighter as he bit and tugged on her earlobe, sucking it between his wet lips.

The table began to shake as Apollo rutted against her. Penny clamped her slender legs around him, her ankles locking behind his firm buttocks. Clinging to him with all four limbs she let Apollo have his way with her, bearing his savage thrusts as only a woman of her fortitude could.

"I will mark thy body with the scent of mine sex," he told her.

"Yes," she gasped.

"I will claim thee as mine lioness," Apollo continued.

"Yes!"

"No one will question that you belong to Apollo, that you bear mine seed."

"Oh fuck yes!" Penny screamed, her fingers digging into his shoulders as he thundered between her legs. She clung to him so tightly that her breasts flattened against his upper chest, their flesh bulging at her sides.

When two of the table's legs snapped Apollo held her aloft in his arms before the table crumbled beneath them. He moved forward and slammed Penny's back against the wall, pinning her there and continued fucking his way into her depths. Their mouths found each other and Penny shoved her tongue between Apollo's lips, letting him know how badly she wanted to be claimed. They kissed and fucked that way until the painted sheet rock at Penny's back began to crack under the pressure of their sex.

An orgasm flooded Penny's senses, causing her to gasp and break their kiss. The heat of it spread through her entire body and she lost control, going limp in Apollo's arms. "Cover me in your scent," she moaned, half-delirious, "Mark me... mark my body as yours..."

He disengaged from her sheath, lowered Penny to her knees, and grasped his cock. She placed a palm at his muscled stomach and pressed her face against the underside of his rock-hard length. Apollo masturbated himself, grunting as he felt an orgasm rising up his shaft.

Penny threw her head back and begged, "Cum on me! Make me stink with your cum!"

"Uhn!" Apollo grunted again, a long rope of his seed landing with a splatter across Penny's face. It decorated her from hairline to chin, a portion of it falling between her open lips. She eagerly licked at his cum as more of it pumped out, globs of hot pearly fluid hitting her jaw and falling to her sizable breasts.

"Oh fuck," Penny moaned at the carnality of it all, lifting a palm to smear his mess across her face.

The last of his orgasm oozed out and Apollo wiped the tip of his cock against her cheek.

"Oh god yes," she spoke in a breathless tone, grasping Apollo's shaft and squeezing out one last dollop of his semen. She took the head of his cock into her mouth and sucked the cum from it, swallowing his essence.

Apollo steadied himself against the damaged wall with an outstretched arm, watching Penny on her knees suckle his swollen manhood.

Penny finally released him from her mouth and licked her lips, still caressing his cock in her hand. "That was so fucking hot," she said in a throaty voice.

"Aye," Apollo agreed with a heavy breath, his eyes lidded from the pleasure of it all. "Stay with me tonight," he urged, "I want my lioness within my arms, warming my bed and heart."

Penny nodded, "Yes. Of course, my lion, yes."

=======

Artemis snuck around a two-story house located within a quiet suburban neighborhood after dark, the stink of demonic prey filling her nostrils. When she reached a back door she lifted a gentle hand and tested the knob, finding it to be unlocked. Her tight leather clothing didn't make a sound as she slipped inside. Hearing voices upstairs, she kept her back to a wall at all times and moved with a toe-heel step, soundless.