The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

When Jacob woke up, he had a splitting headache, a dry mouth, and his stomach was churning.

He's a college student, so these symptoms aren't too unusual for him.

But what made the situation a little more complicated was that his hands were now firmly taped to the armrests of a rather uncomfortable chair. He tried to move his legs, only to find that they were also bound.

He was also horrified to realize that he was only wearing a pair of tight underwear and was in a very ordinary, windowless room with a table in front of him, but his clothes were nowhere to be seen.

He licked his lips and found that he didn't smell of alcohol. So this wasn't a hangover morning.

He tried hard to recall what had happened to him last. He was babysitting the boss's two kids at the time. That raccoon-like thing, or perhaps one of her clones?

He wasn't quite sure what the girl's superpowers were. He might be with the real her, or one of her clones, or perhaps not a clone at all.

To be honest, he tried not to think about it too much, as well as about the new girl Sienna who had buck teeth and a big, flat tail.

Beaver Girl Maple Leaf has a little pocket money, which she spends entirely on buying random little trinkets.

He didn't understand what those inventors were thinking, but he guessed she might turn some of them into weapons of mass destruction, or just toys.

After all, that's how the boss and her gang of weirdos operate.

He often questioned his superpower based on luck, especially after that power led him to fall into the boss's control.

That said… he blinked a few times and looked around the room. The wise thing to do might have been to play dead, but it was too late now.

“Hey!” he shouted.

"Hi!"

Jacob jumped in surprise and turned to look. There were two smaller chairs behind him.

One of the kiosks was empty, and a familiar-looking girl named Trinity was sitting in the other. "Oh, you're here. Wait, where did Maple Leaf go?"

Trinity freed one hand from the duct tape binding her, then put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. "Let's not talk about maple leaves," she said.

He noticed she was still dressed, which... actually, was fine.

He instinctively disliked the people who arrested them, but at least these people had some moral compass. "Do you know who arrested us?"

"I don't know! But if you hadn't slept that long, you might have known. You were snoring when they took your pants off."

Perhaps those who arrested them should also use some duct tape to seal the girl's mouth.

"Thanks for letting me know, I'm glad to know that," he said, a little annoyed. He knew most people would treat children with some respect and care, but most people didn't have to deal with those few dreadful brats all the time.

"Well, uh, whether or not... never mind, let's not talk about it. Did you get a good look at what the people who arrested us look like?"

“Those are nobody high-ranking thugs,” Trinity said confidently. “They’re not even proper thugs, really. I think they’re just a bunch of petty thugs. One or two of them might look like thugs.”

"I don't understand what you mean at all."

"Henchmen are people who work for the villains. They basically cover all types of people, just like... there are all kinds of canned goods, right?"

But if it's empty, then it's all garbage. The thugs are just hired henchmen.

They were trained, but for them, it was just a job. The thugs were similar to petty thugs, only better at fighting. There were also lackeys, hired hands, mercenaries, henchmen, lackeys, minor characters, foot soldiers, ordinary soldiers, cannon fodder, etc., but these were just different names for lackeys.

“Hmm,” he replied. He was used to the kids’ somewhat silly nature, so he was always surprised when they had a detailed understanding of a particular area.

And all this knowledge was related to the villains, which should have made him even more annoyed, but in reality he didn't care that much.

"Is there any escape plan?"

“Yes, don’t worry,” Trinity said.

“Where’s the maple leaf?” he asked, glancing at the other empty chair. They wouldn’t… no, he didn’t want to imagine someone torturing one of the children. That was too wicked.

Just then, the door opened, and he quickly turned to face the doorway. "That's exactly what we want to know," a rough, hoarse voice asked.

A short, stocky man walked into the room.

He was wearing a suit and a tie, the kind of light green one that wedding singers wore in the late 1980s, but the suit had small fireballs and lightning bolts printed on it. His shirt underneath was rather ordinary, white.

“You look really strange,” Trinity said.

Behind the man were two men, whom Jacob guessed Trinity would call thugs. The two burly men wore black overalls and full-face masks that completely obscured their faces, making it impossible to discern their expressions.

They had guns tucked into their belts, and other items hanging from their waistbands. What worried Jacob was that they were putting on brass knuckle covers.

"Does it look strange to me?" the man asked.

“Yes,” Trinity said, “I wouldn’t even pick up what you were wearing if I saw it in the trash.”

The man snorted. "Do you often rummage through garbage dumps?"

“Yes,” Trinity answered without hesitation.

“She’s a bit strange,” Jacob said. He tried to gauge his luck reserves and couldn’t help but frown. They were depleted.

With his current luck, he's worried about getting hit by a car even when crossing the street. Even eating has become a high-risk activity; he could easily choke after just a couple of bites.

His luck reserves weren't this low before. One of the reasons he agreed to accompany Maple Leaf (by the way, where did Maple Leaf go?) was that he wanted to take the opportunity to steal a little bit of luck here and there to replenish his reserves.

This morning's results weren't great, but we still managed to get something out of it.

I got a few lucky breaks from a lady who didn't pick up her own dog poop, a little from a guy who threw trash out of a car window, and some from someone who was very rude to the cashier.

These are all small portions of luck that are not easily noticed. Stealing someone else's luck feels like an intestinal spasm, but most people, if they feel this way even slightly, would think it's just a fart and wouldn't take it too seriously.

His luck reserves are now completely depleted. He probably used them all while he was unconscious.

"So, where is that girl?" the man in front of him asked.

“Uh, aren’t you going to introduce yourself first?” Jacob asked.

Then the man slapped him across the face, and Jacob fell backward.

Trinity laughed. "Wow, that's boring," she said. "Where's your long-winded speech? Where did the intimidation go?"

Jacob moved his jaw. "To be honest, I'm actually a little scared," he said, and it was truly what he felt.

“That’s because you’re so useless,” Trinity said. “If the boss were here, she’d scare you so much you’d wet your pants. I bet she’d bring in a shark, a huge tank of acid, and chains, and hang you upside down above the acid with the shark right below you.”

Oh, and then she'll start asking questions, but that's just for fun, because she's already read your mind and knows all your shameful secrets, so you can only hang there, knowing you can't do anything, covered in pee, about to fall into that acid tank full of sharks.

The thugs and the man in the strange suit were all staring at Trinity. He couldn't see their expressions, but he sensed they were a little worried.

"Anyway, she'll be here soon, so don't worry."

“I don’t believe it,” the man in the suit said.

Trinity grinned, then spat something out onto the table, splashing a puddle of saliva. It was a small device with a few twisted wires and flickering lights.

"What is this?" the man asked. "Has no one searched her?"

“Searched, sir,” one of the thugs said.

"Where was this thing before?" he asked sharply.

Trinity burst out laughing. "It wasn't even finished yet! It was made by Maple Leaf, and she's on her way with the toaster machine gun!" she said with a wicked grin. "The boss will be here soon too, and she'll beat you all to a pulp."

The man swept the device off the table and onto the floor, then handed it to one of the thugs. "Go see what this is. Hurry up."

"Yes, sir." The thug finished speaking and ran off.

The man in the suit turned and pointed at Trinity, asking, "Where did the other girl go?"

"Go home."

"Where is your home?" he asked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not telling you."

He slammed his hand on the table and leaned forward. "You think I can't get information out of you?"

"What can you do, kill me? I'm more afraid of disappointing the boss. I'm not afraid of death. You can't make me more afraid of you." She chuckled. "Can you feel it? Can you feel the boss coming soon? She'll teach you a lesson about what evil is, and you can't stop her."

He slammed his hand on the table again, but slamming it twice made him seem a bit childish. "Don't you care about your situation at all?"

Trinity grinned at his face. "You can't hurt me, you trashy suit guy, so you'd better run away and hide. But even if you hide, it won't do any good, because we'll find you, and then you'll be wishing you could die without any consequences."

Jacob swallowed hard, desperately hoping he wasn't trapped in the house with the madman and the even madder girl.