The austere marble halls glowed with a whiteness that made Parian appear drab by comparison. The gold leaf on the capstones of the classically proportioned columns gleamed with a brightness that was beyond gold. An austere and noble silence enveloped the dignified female form who sat at her loom weaving a fine woolen cloth of incomparable beauty and utility. The weaver looked up and frowned at an incipient disturbance in her quiet domain. She stabbed her shuttle into the fabric and rose as a sonorous bass voice began to chant.

"From the time before which the memory of man runneth not—"

"That singing of yours is an affront to the aether and I won't stand for it."

The voice stopped its chanting.

"Juno, this is my palace. My fortress as it were. It is the appropriate place for me to celebrate the glory of my—"

"Multum in parvo!" she sniffed. "A Roman home is controlled by the wife. You may be the ruler of the gods, but this is my sphere of influence. And I won't stand for singing while I'm weaving." Juno crossed her arms and stared at him.

Her affronted husband drew himself up to his full and considerable height and opened his mouth to Speak. "I am Iuppiter Optimus et Maximus, and I say unto you—"

"Oh stuff it. You're intolerable when you get into these moods. Take yourself off somewhere else for the duration."

"Very well. My Son and I shall Go Forth," he replied with dignity.

"Fine, fine." Juno picked up her shuttle. "Take that daughter of yours with you too. Or whatever she is." Juno sniffed again. "She's certainly no better than she ought to be."

Jupiter sighed. He had tried on many occasions to explain his complex relationship with Venus. But Juno simply refused to comprehend how a deity could be a daughter/alter ego who was born before he himself had manifested for the first time. He shrugged and called to Mars and Venus.

The aether crackled and a leggy blonde materialized accompanied by a red-faced and muscular male in full armor. "What's up pops?" the blonde asked. She looked from Jupiter to Juno and back. "Oh," she giggled. "At it again are you?"

Mars flicked an imaginary piece of fluff from his shield. "Mama, you know I love you but if you two are fighting, I'm not hanging around. Besides, I have swords to sharpen and a few projects hanging fire."

Juno frowned. "Is that any way to greet your mother? Give us a kiss." Mars sighed and gave her a peck on the cheek. She beamed fondly at her son and murmured, "Your father's acting up again." She shrugged. "That chanting."

"Ah." Mars rolled his eyes sapiently in the direction of the Ruler of the Gods. "So, dad. How's about we go for a little frolic and detour? I know a place where the music is fine and the lights are always low."

"You know a place where we can go?" Jupiter asked. "Not the dance hall of the dead again. I didn't care for that one. Nor Valhalla either. Too much beefcake."

Venus grinned. "Since when is it possible to have too much beefcake?"

"It’s a real nice place!" Mars frowned at the blonde. "The Four Corners Bar and Grille. Folks come from all over the space-time continuum." He lowered his voice, "There's this glowing green chick with a fish tail from—"

"Ahem." Jupiter cleared his throat. "Not in front of your mother," he stated in a firm voice, adding in a whisper, "The less your mother knows about things the better we all are."

"I heard that!" Juno frowned at her husband. "The night has a thousand eyes," she added cryptically. "You cannot hide anything from me. But I may choose to Not See. Or Not Hear." She turned back to her loom and ignored her husband.

"You see what I put up with?" asked Jupiter in a longsuffering voice. "D'you see?"

"C'mon, pops." Venus took Jupiter's arm. "Let's go to Mars's new hang spot. Check out the action. Look for hotties!"

Another bright flash spit the aether. Ignoring the resulting thunderclap, Juno resumed her austere and dignified weaving.