The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

"Is it going well?" Sienna asked.

Apart from the few heroic deeds he had heard about from others, Sienna was not familiar with Fabian, but that did not mean she could not care about his health.

The boy—no, he's a young man now—looks badly injured, which isn't good for him.

“He’ll be fine,” Sam said. She patted the amazing Fabian’s knee, then grinned at Sienna. “He’s barely hurt, right, handsome?”

Fabian was shirtless, which made Sienna's cheeks blush slightly, but it didn't mean anything inappropriate.

He sat in a chair in the mobile base's dining area, his shirt on the table, his biceps and arms wrapped in bandages.

Sienna wasn't exactly a medical expert, but judging from the bruises and wounds on his body, she could tell he had fallen sideways.

Some of the wounds looked like simple abrasions. She had recently seen several such abrasions, mostly on her sister Trinity's knees.

There's nothing to worry about with abrasions.

Use some disinfectant, apply a band-aid or wrap it with a bandage, and then kiss the wound...

However, for the remarkable Fabian, perhaps that kiss wasn't necessary.

In fact, she was extremely careful not to say the word "wound" at that moment.

It's best to remove this word from your vocabulary right now, so you don't accidentally say it and end up digging a hole and burying yourself in the process.

The other wounds were more complicated. He had large bruises on his side, extending from below his pectoral muscles (she was very careful to only glance at that area when he couldn't see it) all the way to his waist.

The bruises were an unsightly color, a patchwork of purple and blue, but after Sam examined them by pressing and poking, he determined that his ribs were not dislocated.

Even if he goes to the hospital, he will at most be asked to rest in bed for a week. If he hasn't received the tetanus vaccine on time, he may have to get another tetanus shot. He assured that he had received the vaccine on time.

“Thank you,” Fabian said, looking directly at Sienna. “Really, thank you so much. I had no idea what it would be like to meet you, but I never expected to receive such a warm welcome. Don’t worry about me anymore; I will repay this kindness.”

“Uh,” Sienna said, “it’s nothing, really. It was just some first aid.”

And these weren't even her own first-aid supplies. They were all in a metal box above the sink, with some instructions tucked inside.

There were also some military rations and survival gear inside. However, the girls had found the rations and were "testing" them in the next room.

She... didn't care as long as they could clean up the debris that would inevitably be scattered all over the floor.

“Do you have a way to get home?” Sienna asked.

“I know how to get back to most places in this city.”

Sam snorted. "So, you're a local? Ah, don't worry, I won't pry into your secret identity. Come on, take your pants off."

"what?"

"what?"

Sienna and Fabian said in unison.

Sam rolled his eyes. "I noticed you're limping. Hurry up and take it off. Trust me, there's nothing on you I haven't seen before."

Sienna was quite certain that he had many things she had never seen before, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see them.

“I think it’s a problem with his ankle,” Fabian quickly said.

He lifted his leg and placed it on an empty chair, then pulled his trouser leg up to his calf so Sam could see his foot more clearly. His foot was quite swollen.

Sam gave a soft hum, then pulled over another chair and began to examine the room.

“Tell me if it hurts.” She said, and began to gently rotate his ankle, but she was very careful. Apart from a slight frown, Fabian did not react much.

“So, madam… boss?” he asked uncertainly.

“Just call me boss,” Sienna said.

“Alright then, boss.” The remarkable Fabian gestured around him. “What do you need me to do?”

Sienna blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

He sighed, "I... I'll tell you the truth. Since you've always been honest and fair to me, I've always dreamed of becoming a person of great renown."

And my abilities allow me to take the first step towards that goal. But...sigh, recent experiences have been somewhat frustrating.

“The fight with Charm Girl,” Sienna said, squinting, “and Chain Man.”

He paused for a moment, then nodded. "I guess that's the hero with the chains."

"That's him. For a while, he acted like a villain. We caught him."

“And now,” Sam said as he returned.

She couldn't find ice, but she took a bottle of water that looked a little warm. She poured the water into a small, sealable bag and pressed it against Fabian's ankle. "Now those so-called good people think he has the potential to be a hero again."

“I understand,” Fabian said. “Anyway, that’s right. I wasn’t prepared to take down either of them.”

If I were alone, perhaps I could handle it a little better. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not capable of fighting alone yet.

“That’s easy, just join the boss’s gang,” Sam said.

“I don’t belong to any gang,” the leader said.

“Right,” Sam agreed, then corrected himself, “The Mafia calls it ‘family,’ which sounds much more elegant.”

Sienna glared at the back of Sam's head, but it seemed no one noticed the look.

“I…I don’t want to disappoint you, boss, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to join your…uh, family,” Fabian said.

Sienna breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was good news. For some reason, her sigh made Fabian slightly nervous.

“It’s alright,” Sienna said. “I don’t think we need to expand our workforce any further.”

The remarkable Fabian stared at her for a moment. "So what exactly is your goal?"

I just didn't want to inadvertently go against you. I owe you a favor, and if I wanted to oppose your goals, I would be going against that favor.

"I don't have any big goals," Sienna said vaguely. She was quite satisfied with herself, and even rather proud.

He delivered the excuse quickly and smoothly, without even a stutter. The skill he'd honed for dealing with his sister's embarrassing questions came in handy now.

Then Sam ruined her hard-won achievements, saying, "We're going to take over this city, and then the whole world."

“We’re not going to take over this city,” Sienna said, “and neither are we going to take over the world.”

“Ah, I see,” Fabian said, nodding. “It’s that kind of subtle, gradual takeover.”

“Yes, that’s it,” Sam said.

Sienna shook her head. That's not it at all! It's not like that at all!

Fabian's eyes became somewhat dazed. "Yes, I can picture that scene right now."

A beautiful leader, feared by all, with a loyal army by her side. She stands with her feet on the necks of the greatest heroes, and the entire city is under her control.

Sienna's face flushed instantly. Never before had a handsome, shirtless man complimented her on her beauty.

"Boss, Fabian's all bandaged up. Should we kick him out?"

Sienna shook her head. "No, of course not. Fabian, you can rest here. The Fate Organization will be using this base for the next few days."

Aleya Ikta will come with you. Ah, we'll try to bring some food, and maybe some painkillers too. She did have some in her bag, but none of them were as strong as the anti-inflammatory medication Sam had already given him.

"Yeah, we need to replenish our supplies here. Those kids have almost finished their military rations."

"And we just used up some medical supplies. I think it's wise to replenish those supplies, just in case, you know," Sam said.

Sam had a knack for instantly transforming from silly to serious, a change so rapid it left Sienna a little dizzy. "Yeah—yes, that's a good idea."

She cleared her throat. "I'm going to see my sisters. Fabian, I hope you get better soon."

"Thank you," he said, his tone sounding very sincere.

She walked out of the room and headed towards the next train carriage.

She noticed her sisters sitting around a large table in the middle of the carriage, their eyes narrowed, their hands gripping cards tightly, and they were suspiciously sizing each other up.

"Is there a nine?" Teddy asked Trinity.

The three Trinity sisters grinned. "No, go get the cards."

Teddy mumbled something, and Sienna thought it might be a word from her "forbidden words" list, but she couldn't quite make out what it was.

“Hey girls,” she said.

“Hey boss, want us to deal you cards and play together?” Teddy asked. She had a lot of cards in her hand and seemed eager to start a new game.

“Oh, no need,” Sienna said.

She noticed the military rations that her sisters were sharing. "Wait, are you gambling with biscuits... and omelets?"

Trinity lifted a brown package from her pile of things. "That's right!"