About a half hour later, they came upon a small cave entrance, leading into a mountain side.
"Home sweet home," Loki said, smiling.
"You live here?" Tate asked.
"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's been my home for the last few thousand years. The others wouldn't let me have my own palace. Jerks."
"A few thousand years? How old are you?"
"How old are you?" Loki asked back. When he saw that Tate got his point, he said "Come. We'll be safe inside."
"Safe from what?"
"Just come."
Tate shrugged, then went into the cave with Loki.
Inside, it was much bigger. It had some Greek furnishings and architecture, like the columns and pillars from ancient Greece. But mainly, it was just a large cavern.
He took Tate into an adjacent room, which was much smaller than the main room. But this one had no resemblance to ancient Greece whatsoever. In fact, it looked a lot like a room from a modern day house. There was a couch and chair, both sitting in front of a TV and on the walls were posters for movies going back to the mid-eighties.
Tate looked around, amazed at what he saw. When he came to Mars, he never once thought he'd find anything like this. It was like a little piece of home away from home.
"I've been keeping an eye on your planet, for a long time now," Loki said. "The others lost interest when the humans lost interest in them. But not me." He paused, then said "Humanity's come a long way. You still have your faults, but I see a great civilization forming. One day you might even be more powerful than the gods. But that day is still at least a few thousand years away."
"Is that how much more advanced your people are?" Tate asked. From what Loki said, he made it sound as though Zeus and the others were nothing more than just highly advanced aliens. And the thing was, he was right. But whether they're magical or highly advanced technologically, humans were no match for them.
"Yes, but they're not my people." He sighed. "It's far too complicated to explain. Maybe when we have more time."
"What do you mean?" Tate asked.
"When I found you, you weren't wearing your protective suit. That means that one of the gods enchanted you. And they wouldn't have done that unless you asked them to. So, tell me. Who are you trying to help?"
Stunned that Loki was able to put it all together without him saying one word, Tate said "Well ... uh ... she's a friend. I mean, she's a co-worker, a colleague. Zeus kidnapped her."
"That bastard," Loki said, punching his fist into his hand. He looked up at Tate, then showed a slight grin. "I'll help you get your friend back, Marcus."
