The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna had two pleasant and peaceful days. Nothing exploded, no one sneaked out to buy ice cream or played pranks, and overall, life was normal and calm.

"Big-sister-sister-" Athena dragged out the last syllable, "We're so bored."

“I know,” Sienna said, “especially after you told me more than a dozen times, I know even more.”

"So what are you planning to do, boss?" Teddy asked. She was lying face down on Sienna's bed, her head tilted to one side so she could see the screen of Sienna's laptop.

The computer sits on an empty pizza box, and the whispers of a nature documentary narrator come through its speakers.

The other sisters were also in bed. Athena was leaning against the wall, while Trinity was partly on the floor and partly at the foot and head of the bed.

Somehow, one of her bodies was asleep, while the other two were awake and drowsy.

“I’m sorry you’re bored,” Sienna said, “but I’m enjoying this moment of peace. And didn’t you all have a good time at Mr. Hedson’s house? With Steffie.”

“Yes, but that was a long time ago,” Athena complained.

But they had been back for less than an hour.

“No boring schoolwork tomorrow,” Teddy said. “It’s the weekend, you know what weekends are for. Playing pranks!”

Trinity perked up. "Are we going to do something naughty?"

"No, we're not going out. We'll stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet."

Just then, her phone rang, and Sienna cursed her bad luck inwardly. It was an unknown number, but she figured if she didn't answer, the caller would definitely call back.

"Hello?" she asked, pressing the answer button.

A soft sob came from the other end of the phone. “Hey, boss,” Aleya Iakta said.

Sienna sat up straight. "What's wrong?"

“I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really say anything at all,” he said.

“You wouldn’t call me if there was nothing wrong,” Sienna said. She was even a little smug about the unquestionable tone in her voice.

She heard Aleja Iakta swallow hard on the other end of the phone, "That's right, I think I've been set up."

“What?” Sienna asked.

"That safe house you took me to? It was pretty good, but, uh, it's not safe anymore. Listen, I ordered takeout and chatted with the delivery girl for a bit."

She's quite cute, you know? Anyway, she said she often delivers food to that area, and even delivered to a van a few times. I just felt something was off.

Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. It must be his superpower of luck reminding him, or it was just pure good luck, or perhaps he was being paranoid and misunderstanding, and everything was actually normal.

She felt that the last possibility was just wishful thinking on her part.

"Do you feel safe right now? And how did you get on my phone?"

"I was lucky; someone dropped their unlocked phone in front of me, and I picked it up. I'm in a coffee shop now, and all my important things are in a backpack."

I think it's wiser not to stay there. Uh, you don't have a second safe house, do you? A safer one, though.

“No,” Sienna said irritably.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Okay, stay there and don't move. Tell me your address."

Aleya Iakta mumbled an address and some general directions, and Sienna listened and took notes, nodding occasionally.

After hanging up the phone, she leaned back, wondering what terrible things she had done to deserve this troublesome life.

After feeling down for a while, she stood up and gestured to her sisters, "Take your clothes and bags, we might have to go out for a bit."

The sisters immediately busied themselves in the room, quickly packing. They took their clothes out from under the bed and stuffed them into the small backpacks that Ms. Hydesen had given them for their school supplies.

Sienna thought it wouldn't be too suspicious for a few girls to be walking around with their backpacks at this time. She scrolled through her contacts and found Sam's number.

The girl answered the phone on the second ring, "Hi?"

“Hey Sam,” Sienna said, “right now… uh, isn’t it inconvenient?”

"If you can find me something to do, that would be convenient. What's wrong?"

"I have a little trouble."

Sam laughed. "I'll be at your door in two minutes. I'll put on my running shoes first."

Sam kept his word and knocked on Sienna's door within two minutes. She slipped in as soon as Athena opened the door.

“Hi,” Sienna said, “you know Aleja Iakta, right?”

"That little lackey?" Sam asked.

Sienna nodded reluctantly. "Yes, it's him."

“He hasn’t done anything to deserve that title,” Teddy said, patting Sam on the shoulder. “You’re the best sidekick, at least that’s what I think.”

Sam grinned. "Thanks. Do you think there's any chance I might become a female assistant someday?"

Teddy gave a thumbs up. "Keep up the good work. Working people always get promoted."

“Aleya Iakta needs our help,” Sienna said, ignoring their teasing for the moment. “He’s in a coffee shop downtown. He thinks his safe house might have been discovered.”

“That’s not good,” Sam said. “What should we do?”

“I… I think we can go pick him up, and then… I don’t know, we’ll have to find him somewhere else.”

Sam gave a dangerous smile. "I do know a place."

“Tell me quickly,” Sienna said. “I don’t want to surprise you with something like this.”

“I’m not that kind of person,” Sam said. “That blue building near the bus stop on the edge of campus, there’s an entrance room there that leads to the sewers.”

"You want him to stay in the sewers?" Sienna asked.

“That sounds good,” Trinity said.

Sam shook his head. "No. I recently discovered that the entrance also leads to the only completed subway line. They mostly use it now to lay cables and stuff, but the line is still there."

“How do I get to the subway depot from there?” Sienna asked.

“You can go to many other places. The important thing is, you can move the base here,” Sam said.

“What?” Sienna asked. “I don’t understand.”

Sam pointed towards downtown. "The base is over there, right? But it's a mobile base. Move it over here, and it'll be here."

This way, he can easily find your henchman and arrive at the base at the same time. While he's there, he can also do some cleaning or something.

Sienna considered the idea carefully. While not the worst idea she'd ever heard, it was still quite risky. "Too risky," she said.

“Hey, come on, that base looks ready,” Sam said. “And he’s a luck manipulator, isn’t he?”

"Yes, he is. But he needs to accumulate luck, or rather, steal luck. I'm not sure if he has enough luck right now."

"Maybe he can help us transfer the goods. I mean, about the base. We just need to keep an eye on it."

Sienna blinked. "Maybe. I mean, he might be able to help... Well, we'll see. Anyway, we're not taking much of a risk."

That base isn't really of any use to us. He probably has his own agenda, and the whole thing might be a trap to lure us out.

“Oh, I’m not afraid,” Trinity said.

“We’ll see,” Sienna said, which excited Trinity, who began boasting that she was least afraid of being sacrificed. This prompted the other two to join in, also boasting that they were equally unafraid of being sacrificed.

Sienna was quite certain that they had no idea what the word truly meant.

"Alright, let's go, kids, and boss too, we're going to... Is he considered a villain?"

Sienna shook her head. "Not exactly, not entirely. He has a bit of that tendency, but he's more of a troublemaker, he just went too far this time. He's not a bad person, just a bit unreliable."

“Oh, so that’s the kind of person he is,” Sam said. “Well, I’ll be able to give him a proper evaluation soon enough. Shall we go?”

Sienna and her sisters filed out of the room, hiding their clothes, their spirits much higher than a few minutes earlier. Sienna repeatedly emphasized that they weren't going out to do anything bad, but to help a friend in need, a friend who had been unintentionally frightened into submission by her.