The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

"And then?" Sienna's mother asked.

Sienna gently swirled the glass in her hand. This was already her second drink.

Think about it, what led her down the path of caffeine addiction wasn't her college life, but rather being a villain and taking care of children.

"Then we left, and I stayed in touch with the 'lucky guy' who found a place with a signal on the train, so we kept texting back and forth."

They were in a coffee shop right now, and Sienna felt like she was spending all her free time there.

Sienna and her mother found two seats facing each other in the corner, while her sisters gathered around a table next to them, watching videos on Sienna's phone.

This little phone has been a huge help; anything that can grab a child's attention is a good thing.

"I understand, I understand. So what does this 'lucky one' think about all of this?"

They didn't want anyone to hear Aleya Iqta's real name spoken aloud, just in case, so they used this new nickname to emphasize that the nickname might not be necessary.

Sienna felt that her mother enjoyed these mysterious and secretive aspects of her life much more than she did. "I don't know what he's thinking," Sienna said.

"You know, mothers worry when they see their daughters texting boys all day long."

“I text Sam all the time too,” Sienna said.

"Well, Mom, I don't care whether my daughter likes to text boys or girls."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "It's all work-related, trust me."

Mom leaned back and hummed, "I know, honey. I think I can stop teasing you for now."

Besides, most mothers only hope to hold their grandchildren; you've already exceeded expectations.

“Mom,” Sienna said, her tone carrying a hint of warning.

Her mother grinned at her, then slowly took a sip of her coffee. "So, what are you planning to do next?"

“I’m not sure yet. Sam has some ideas about E. Clair. I think she wants me to get involved… into, uh, politics. Or maybe business.”

Honestly, all I need to do is earn enough money to take care of my sisters.

“Your father and I will help, at least to the best of our ability.” A warm hand was placed on Sienna’s hand, and she smiled. “I don’t know if we can feed everyone in the long run, but we will do our best.”

"Thank you, Mom. I'm trying my best. I don't really like the business model I'm taking over... but it's my only reliable source of income. And it's not much."

We only have connections with a few small companies. I don't even know if I have enough reputation to connect with other companies.

"To be honest, as long as you give back to the community more than you take from it, from a moral standpoint, I don't really care how you do it. It's the same principle as paying taxes."

“Didn’t Dad say that taxation is theft?” Sienna asked.

Mom smiled. "Never mind that. That handsome young man, the one who's got all your attention?"

Sienna blushed and glared at her mother. "He didn't attract all my attention."

"So they only robbed a bank," Mom said, chuckling at her own joke.

Sienna crossed her arms over her chest. "I think he's recovering quite well. I don't know how he'll respond to our hospitality."

Sam wanted him to be another…business partner, but I didn't know him well enough. Good looks alone weren't enough for me to trust him.

"That's very wise."

Sienna was about to scold her mother for teasing her again when her bag vibrated.

She reached into her bag and took out her phone, frowning as she looked at the screen. "It's from Aleya—" she cleared her throat, "...it's from our lucky friend."

This was just another one of many text messages. She might have been worried that any communication was dangerous, but so far, they had been replying to each other with extreme caution, as if they were talking about school matters.

Lucky guy: Hey!

Lucky guy: I found something pretty cool.

The lucky one: It's behind a geology classroom. There might be another geology classroom. I haven't explored it yet.

Sienna frowned.

"Is it bad news?" Mom asked.

“It’s not bad news, it’s just a little strange,” she replied absentmindedly.

The geology lesson refers to the subway line, which is underground, so using this term to refer to it is quite appropriate.

She wasn't even sure if the school had geology classes, but that wasn't important. Another geology classroom...did he discover another set of tunnels?

That seems unlikely. Building and then abandoning a subway line is one thing, but would a city build two? She figured E. Clair didn't have that kind of budget. "I think I'll probably have to look into it."

“You’re always so busy,” Mom said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen either. I just have too many things to do."

She stood up, and the two hugged. Her mother and Sienna's sisters said goodbye and left shortly after. Everyone hugged each other, and of course, patted each other on the head.

The younger sisters were quite sad to see their stepmother leaving, but Sienna wasn't sure if it was genuine sadness or if they just liked the candy their mother had secretly given them.

The mother left amidst a chorus of "Goodbye, Claire," and then the sisters turned to Sienna, five pairs of curious, inquisitive eyes staring at her, wondering what she was going to make them do.

Sienna tried to force a smile and found it quite natural. "We might have to go on an adventure," she said.

“That’s great,” Teddy said. “What kind of adventure?”

"I'm not entirely sure yet. But the sooner we set off, the sooner we can find out what's going on."

Of course they had to call Sam.

This subordinate (Sienna had to restrain herself, no matter how much others were happy to accept this title, it was never a good thing to call someone a subordinate) was always happy to go out and help, at least as long as it was related to heroes or villains, she was willing to get involved.

"What's going on?" Sam asked on the phone.

“I received a text message that says someone has discovered an abandoned classroom, right next to the geology classroom,” Sienna said.

She seemed more tongue-tied on the phone than when texting. "I was thinking we could go and find out what's going on?"

“Oh, okay,” Sam said. “I’ll be at the dorm in about twenty minutes.”

“Sure,” Sienna said. The coffee shop was just across the street from the campus, so it wouldn’t take long to walk there. Plus, it would let the sisters burn off their excess energy.

Going to school with Ms. Hudson (who, in Sienna's eyes, was practically a saint) gave the sisters a lot of energy.

After they set off, her sisters chattered away, telling her about what had happened that day and what they had learned.

After a brisk walk, the group arrived in front of the dormitory. Sam stood there with his arms crossed and his back against the wall in front of the building.

She was wearing sunglasses and looked incredibly cool; Sienna felt she could never be as cool as her. "Hey, boss,"

“Hello, Sam,” Sienna replied.

"What's wrong, comrade?" Teddy asked.

Sam ruffled the bear girl's hair, ignoring her loud complaints.

“Aleya texted me,” Sienna began, “saying he might have discovered a base hidden next to our base.”

I'm not even sure if I understood it correctly. He did send me a meeting place, though.

I think we should go check it out. Perhaps we should go see what's going on first, make sure it's not a trap, and then investigate further.

“Wow, you’re being a little too paranoid, you know?” Sam asked.

“This isn’t paranoia,” Sienna defended herself. “You won’t feel that way when you know some conspiracies are so real they’re unsettling.”

"That makes sense. So, where should we meet?"

Sienna glanced at her phone. "It wasn't a specific address. He mentioned a footbridge between the fire station and...this football field."

“Oh,” Sam said, “I know that place. It’s right next to the campus, and it’s probably faster to walk there than drive. By the time we get to the car, we’ll already be halfway there on foot.”

Sienna shrugged. "Okay, let's walk over and take a look. I don't really care."

Moreover, if they were walking, she could have Trinity go ahead to scout out the way and see if there was anything suspicious.

Her sisters ran around her and Sam, and the group began to walk along the edge of the campus.

Several students jogged past, while others took advantage of the rare warm weather to sit on benches or at park tables, gathering in small groups.

A few people glanced at her sisters, but only uttered a few exclamations of surprise; not many paid them much attention. Perhaps this was for the best.

When they were almost at the overpass (under which was a four-lane highway), Sienna asked Trinity to scout ahead, repeatedly telling her not to try to cross the road.

Trinity's report was somewhat rambling and not particularly accurate, mostly describing the garbage on the road under the overpass. However, apart from Aleya Ikta, who was sitting on a bench in casual clothes, she didn't see anyone strange.

“Hey boss,” the boy said as he saw the group approaching, “I just found something really weird that you guys will love.”

"Let's go take a look."