She Is A Hero-Goddess: And She Finds Hephaestus Attractive...

The device was bulky and awkward, as were most prototypes, but Hephaestus concealed it in his briefcase, and brought it into the lab. It generated a low frequency Wi-Fi signal connected to his smartphone and would detect and analyse the signatures of any deity who came within 50' now it was just a matter of getting Miss Fa Mai to approach within that distance...

Martin didn't have a chance to do that before lunch, but then sought Mai out and asked her to come proof some equations. She was ****, but he was a senior team leader so she did as asked, even though she kept glancing at him like he was some kind of unknown insect she had found in her sleeping bag...

When they got to his desk his phone rang and he excused himself to go take the call, which really was a readout of the data from the machine. Mai began on the equations on the chalkboard, while Hephaestus watched the readout develop it's profile with both worry and anticipation.

Just as Miss Fa Mai was finishing up with the number crunching the machine finished it's analysis: she was in fact a Goddess, but a very minor one, a 'Hero-Deity' and she was part of the Chinese pantheon. Other than that the device lacked specific enough data on the Chinese religion and how the energy readings of Chinese gods differed from the Greeks to make an accurate assessment, but that was all Hephaestus needed.

"Shénshèng de fūrén?"* Hephaestus asked, and Mai responded absently...
*("Divine-Lady?")

"Shì?"* She queried, then dropped her chalk and spun around clasping her hand over her mouth!
*("Yes?")

Hephaestus felt triumphant but lapsed back into English: hoping to keep the hero-goddess off guard and not being adequately proficient in Chinese for a protracted conversation.

"So, you are a Chinese goddess, what is your true name? Mine is Hephaestus," Hephaestus said, expending a touch of divine power to kill the flow of energy to the recording divices hidden in his office.

Fa Mai swallowed hard, but she knew the game was up and responded honestly. "I am Lady Xian, last born in three-thousand-two-hundred-and-eight, and last died in three-thousand-two-hundred-ninety-eight from **** old age. I am a Heroine-Goddess of sound judgement, women's role in government, and virtuous living. I also am frankly disgusted with the policies of the Communist Party of China and have therefore defected to America where I had hoped to become a jurist again but have instead found that the government wishes to use my first rate scientific education to further their Space Program," Lady Xian hesitated and licked her lips before continuing, but screwed her courage to the sticking place and forged ahead. "I also have been aware of your identity for some weeks now and find you very attractive, for a Caucasian man in his late thirties, and have suspected for quite some time that you knew I was more than mortal. Should you wish to leave your unfaithful girlfriend who I suspect of being Aphrodite, and instead ask me to become your First Wife: I would not say no..." Lady Xian explained, and looked down almost as if expecting a blow for her forwardness.