The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna rummaged through her wallet for change. She had a small pouch specifically for coins, but she wanted to make sure she had enough for the call.

In front of her, leaning against a tiled wall, was a payphone. It had a distinctly 90s style; the plastic casing was yellowed, and the end of the cord was coiled. At least it wasn't one of those old-fashioned rotary dial phones.

“Ah,” Sienna said as she found another 25-cent coin.

No wonder cell phones have become so popular; just having to pull out those coins to make a pay call is a nightmare.

Sienna checked the numbers saved on her phone, then inserted a few coins into the coin slot and began dialing. She held the receiver between her shoulder and head, tilting her head to hold it in place, while simultaneously putting the phone away.

The phone rang twice before someone answered. "How can I help you?" a smooth, familiar voice asked.

“Yes, hello, Handshaw,” Sienna said.

“Ah, isn’t this ‘Boss’?” Handshaw responded. His tone sounded cheerful, but Sienna didn’t consider herself good at judging people’s emotions by their voices. “What brings you here today? I hope you didn’t call from your own phone. You never know who might be listening in.”

“No,” Sienna pondered what to say next. She had a few things she wanted to know, and the ‘handshake’ was all about providing people with the information they wanted to know. “Can we exchange information?”

“Oh, what kind of exchange?” he asked.

“I’d like to know a few things. About, well, the clown, ‘cement,’ and the general situation of this city, I suppose.”

"Eau Clare has been getting more and more interesting lately, hasn't it? I think I have a few questions for you too. Do you remember where we first met?"

Sienna remembered it clearly. It was a bar located below a coffee shop. In fact, it wasn't far from where she was now.

"Remember."

"Are you free in an hour and a half, around 2:30?"

"You want to meet and talk?" Sienna asked. "Yes, sure, I can."

“Great!” said Handshaw. “See you then. Oh, will you bring your furry little friend?”

He was probably referring to Teddy. "No, she'll stay at base," Sienna said. She didn't mention Athena or Trinity. It would be foolish for Sienna to go out without either of her sisters. "Is that all?"

"I think so. We'll see each other soon."

The call ended, and Sienna put the receiver back in its place. She placed the extra coins in the old phone book at the bottom of the phone booth, just in case.

"What's going on, boss?" Athena asked.

“We’re going to meet him at the coffee shop and bar where Handshaw hangs out,” Sienna said. “He said no furry…friends, but I think you should come with me. And bring Trinity too.”

Athena grinned. "Oh, you're so clever!" she said.

Am I smart?

"Of course. I have feathers, not fur, and Trinity doesn't go there most of the time, so it doesn't count as you actually taking her, right?"

“Okay, fine,” Sienna said.

Athena nodded seriously. "One day, I'll be just as good as you at distinguishing truth from falsehood, don't worry!"

That's a little scary. "Take it slow, please," Sienna said. "And remember not to use those villainous tricks on your sisters, okay?"

“Okay, big sister,” Athena replied.

If Sienna couldn't stop her sisters from being themselves, perhaps she could at least persuade them to behave themselves when they were around. The hope was slim, but better than nothing. "Trinity?" Sienna called out. She looked around the platform, then sighed. "Trinity, don't go rummaging through the trash cans."

“Great!” Trinity cheered as she ran over. “There’s not much inside anyway.”

“Nobody’s ever used this station, so it’s not surprising there’s nothing here,” Sienna said. “Alright, let’s head out to see Handshaw now. Trinity, can your other clones tell Sam we’re going out to see him?”

“I can do it!” Trinity said. She smiled and swayed her head from side to side.

"Did you tell me?" Sienna asked.

"Oh. It's my turn to fight Aleia Ikta. My other clones are in the bathroom."

Sienna sighed. "I think this might be more important."

Trinity frowned. "Okay, but you told us wiping our butts is important."

"What I mean is that this is more important than the game. So... tell Teddy what I said, and you can play in the next round too, okay?"

"Alright!" Trinity cheered.

Sienna gathered her emotions, crumpled them into a ball, and then stuffed them into a dark, deep corner to keep them away from her for the time being. "Alright, let's go."

After saying that, Sienna led her two younger sisters toward the upper level of the station, and finally exited through a side door into a familiar alley.

Sometime later, Sam found the key to the station's side door and even made several copies. Sienna was certain that both of these things were illegal, but... she also realized she hadn't been paying much attention to them.

The coffee shop wasn't far. They walked briskly for about twenty minutes and arrived at the door. A leisurely twenty minutes. Traveling with just two younger sisters was much easier than traveling with three.

It seems that the more sisters there are, the more difficult it is to take care of them, and the difficulty increases exponentially.

The coffee shop hasn't changed much; it still has that cozy, niche style. Soothing jazz music plays from inexpensive speakers, and a few customers sit around round tables, some with laptops, others focused on their meals.

“Alright,” Sienna said, “Trinity, your job is to keep smiling and just be yourself.”

“This is my specialty,” Trinity said.

Sienna patted her head. "I believe in you. Athena, you have a more important task. 'Handshake' is a very clever man. He knows a lot, and he's only a semi-ally."

"He's a neutral party member, right? Neither a villain nor a hero, kind of boring?" Athena asked.

"Well, it is."

“You can’t trust people like that. They don’t take sides,” Athena said, shaking her head sadly. “Do you want me to scare him and make him afraid of you, his ‘boss’?”

"Only do this when you feel it's absolutely necessary. We want to get information from him, so we don't want to anger him. Besides, he's not an enemy. But... perhaps you could try using your newly acquired mind-reading ability on him?"

Athena nodded. "Okay, boss. I've been practicing diligently."

Sienna had no interest in knowing who she was practicing on. "Alright, we need to cross the street now," Sienna said.

Athena and Trinity offered her their hands, and Sienna pretended to look around before leading her sisters across the road when there were no more cars.

Upon arriving at the coffee shop, she headed straight to the back. The barista behind the counter looked up, clearly curious. "Uh, let's go downstairs," Sienna said.

The woman nodded, her gaze following them until Sienna walked into the corridor at the back of the shop.

“She thinks we’re suspicious,” Athena said. “And she thinks you might be someone with superpowers.”

“Oh,” Sienna said. If even a random waiter could tell she had superpowers, her disguise would be useless. She went down the stairs to the basement and opened the door.

The basement reeked of cigars and alcohol. It was still the same dull place she remembered. A few pillars divided the space, and several booths stood against the walls. There was no one at the bar, just like the last time she came.

Or rather, almost no one.

The same person sitting in the same spot was Handshaw. He looked better than Sienna remembered. At least, his arm no longer needed a sling. A laptop sat on the table in front of him, its screen illuminating his face.

Not far from him, leaning against a pillar, stood another man. He was wearing a coat with the hood drooping over his head, and because the bar light was behind him, Sienna couldn't see his face. She only judged him to be a man based on the outline of his shoulders and the ordinary clothes he was wearing.

“Ah, ‘Boss’!” Handshaw said, standing up and buttoning the front of his suit jacket. “It’s nice to see you again. You’ve brought a few friends with you.”

“Yes, these are ‘Owl Watcher’ and ‘Robber’,” she introduced her two sisters by their code names.

“Hello, I hope this meeting will go well and that it won’t escalate to the point of violence,” he said, extending his hand to Sienna.

Sienna instinctively reached out to shake his hand.

At that moment, Athena grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm off. "No," she said, "he's playing tricks on you."

Sienna froze, then glared at Handshake (in English, "handshake" means to shake hands).

She was so foolish. His abilities are reflected in his name, aren't they? What did he ask for? He hoped for a pleasant meeting, and that she wouldn't attack him?

“Don’t do that,” she said.

Handshaw swallowed hard and withdrew his hand. "As you wish, shall we begin? What would you like to know?"