The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna shifted in her seat; the chair was by no means comfortable.

But the current situation made her uneasy.

Talking to strangers was already difficult enough for her, but now she had to talk to a superhuman who called himself "Mysterious Person," which made her even more uneasy and filled her with a completely different feeling.

“Hmm,” Sienna said, “I… I don’t know what to ask. Perhaps… perhaps I should ask how to determine my… you just said my moral compass?”

Handshaw nodded. "That's the commonly accepted term. There are other ways to say it, which are more accurate from a scientific point of view, but the term 'morality' already sums up its meaning quite well."

To improve yourself, you need to complete tasks, and those tasks are closely related to your moral values.

A scoundrel like me usually gets tasks like building connections and making money.

Those who lean more towards the hero's side are assigned tasks related to rescuing people.

By the way, this information is provided free of charge. I have no habit of making money by selling content that can be found on IWikipedia.

Sienna nodded slowly. "Then what if I want to change my moral values?"

"Information on this is not so easy to obtain." Handshaw gestured. "I can sell it to you, but I'll charge a small fee."

"You want money?" Sienna asked.

Handshaw raised a hand and waved it from side to side. "I don't really want money. I prefer people to do things for me or fulfill some of my requests, but for this simple piece of information, a little money is enough."

"How much?" Sienna asked.

The man's smile remained unchanged. "Two hundred."

Sienna hesitated, "This... is too much."

She does have some money. Her parents gave her enough to cover her food and other expenses for a while, and she worked odd jobs all summer to save up.

She has enough money to buy a few nice things, and maybe even some clothes for Teddy, but to spend a month's worth of food money on just a little bit of information... that's more expensive than buying textbooks.

"If you're willing, I can offer you some additional benefits. I have the ability to ensure that everyone is happy when the deal is finalized and everyone shakes hands in amicable agreement."

Handshaw turned to one of the laptops and clicked a few times.

“I have a detailed list here of what tasks an anti-hero must complete to transform into a good person.”

"What kind of mission?" Sienna asked.

"That can't be said. We can't say the number of tasks to be completed or how to do them specifically."

“I…I don’t know,” Sienna said.

Handshaw's lips curled into a slight smile. "Miss Isabella, I am by no means your enemy. In fact, I can bring you great benefits."

Think about your current situation and what you want to get out of it. If your goal is to become a hero, then you need to plan a path to that goal.

And I can help you the whole way.

Sienna crossed her arms to warm herself. "I don't want to be a hero. I don't want to be a villain or a scoundrel. I just want to go to school and live my own life, Mr. Handshaw."

The man chuckled. "I'm afraid you've already missed your chance. Imagine what would happen if the right person discovered your current situation?"

“What?” Sienna asked.

Handshaw chuckled. “Let me think. This information alone is valuable, as you can tell. Some of those on the side of justice would be happy to have the honor of capturing a potential villain.”

“A potential villain?” she repeated.

“Oh, you might not be at that point yet,” Handshaw emphasized, “but the temptation might exist. Missions for the evil faction are always much easier than those for the hero faction.”

That's why some people see you as a threat. Having more power only requires you to hurt a few people.

“I would never do that.”

He chuckled again, "Of course not. But other people might not think that way after they learn about your situation."

Did you know that some people possess the superpower to see through other people's abilities and skills?

What if one of them, say, decides that your moral values ​​pose a risk to you, and then decides... to target you?

Sienna closed her eyes, but only for a short while.

She wasn't the smartest girl. Socially speaking, she'd always been... lacking, but she could connect things and figure things out just like everyone else.

Handshaw made a threat from the very beginning, and it was this threat that brought her here.

Now he's trying to put her in a position where she... how? has to rely on him?

She has to do things for him, or he'll betray her to some heroes and watch her get arrested for possibly being a bad guy.

She hadn't told him yet that her moral compass had been set as villainous from the very beginning.

She initially thought it was just bad luck, but now she increasingly feels that the situation is much worse than she imagined.

“Mr. Handshaw, are you threatening me?” she asked.

The man's smile turned ugly. "Oh, Miss Isabella, I'm a businessman. I just want the best outcome for both of us."

"Boss?" Teddy asked.

Sienna didn't know what her...companion, summoned creature...sister was asking, but she guessed that Teddy had realized it was a trap just like her.

She needs to leave this place, find somewhere to think things through, and perhaps find another source of information.

Sienna nodded.

Teddy grinned.

Just as Sienna realized she might have made a small mistake, Teddy leaped up, and the chair she was sitting on flew backward.

In an instant, Teddy's fur stood on end, and her clothes disappeared into the thick brown down that grew from her body.

Then Teddy started to grow bigger and bigger, and bigger and bigger.

An arm as thick as Sienna's torso reached forward and shoved Handshaw onto the sofa.

A claw landed on the nearest laptop, its four-inch length piercing into the computer and shattering it, sending electronic components flying everywhere.

Sienna, like Handshaw, was stunned and stood frozen in place as she watched a huge grizzly bear sprawl across the table.

The claw pressing down on Handshaw twitched slightly, and a long white claw emerged from its own claw, pressing against his shirt.

The bear approached him and asked, "Did you threaten the boss?" Its voice sounded like gravel being poured into a drum dryer.

Sienna's thoughts returned from the little room deep within her mind where she could scream to her heart's content, and quickly got back on track.

She quickly assessed the situation and made a clear list in her mind.

The number one thing was that Teddy was more like a bear than she had imagined.

“Teddy,” she said. Her voice was unusually calm, like when her mother discovered her father had bought two hundred dollars worth of hockey tickets with the family credit card.

The bear turned its head; its head was much heavier than Sienna's, and faced her.

Its face was large, its canines longer than Sienna's entire hand, but its eyes were Teddy's calm brown eyes. "Hmm, boss?"

"Please don't kill this gentleman; there are rules here."

"Okay, boss."

Sienna turned to Handshaw, whose handsome face was slightly flushed; she guessed he was having some difficulty breathing.

"Teddy, please let him go, he can't speak."

Handshaw felt like he was diving underwater and letting himself sink, as if he were weightless and floating.

“Miss Isabella…”

“We won’t kill you,” she said more to Teddy than for the man himself, “but, but you’re threatening me… that won’t do, Mr. Handshaw.”

"I understand. I'm sorry."

Handshaw's confident little smile had vanished, replaced by a guilty look.

"I'm doing this so that we both get the best possible outcome."

She didn't believe him at all. "How do your superpowers work?" she asked. "Do you really have superpowers?"

“I have it! I can make deals with people. I know what people want, and I know what they will accept in a deal.”

Sienna frowned upon hearing this. "Then why are you threatening me?"

Handshaw swallowed hard. "If you're under pressure, I can make a better deal with you."

"And...and didn't you think that would hurt you?" she asked.

He was stunned. "I just didn't expect your friend to turn into a bear."

She crossed her arms again. "Sir, you're not dealing with me with good intentions."

The man began to tremble, especially when Teddy growled in dissatisfaction.

"How about we make a new deal?" he asked. "I believe I can make this deal worthwhile for you!"