The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Living underground, the worst part—besides the lingering smell of car exhaust and the constant roar overhead—was that Sienna always felt particularly embarrassed whenever they came to the base entrance.

Of course, this underground passage is not located in the most bustling area of ​​Auclere.

All the traffic is above the lane, not below. The road it's on has a slight curve, so people in nearby apartment buildings can't even see their vans parked in the maintenance driveway, and this part of the town is relatively quiet.

It's close to the university, but not so close that there are dormitories everywhere.

It's located in a rather odd little corner, which is perhaps its advantage. Hopefully, no one will come looking for them here.

Sienna opened the side door of the van and quickly jumped aside as two Trinity rushed out. "Are you wearing seatbelts?" she asked.

“I tied one of them,” Trinity said, leaping up.

Sienna decided not to press the matter further. "Alright. Girls, come help me move the boxes."

Soon, they opened the trunk of the van, and Sienna began handing the boxes to her sisters. She took a few of the heavier boxes for herself and tried lifting them with one hand for a while to make sure she could carry them.

“You guys carry these out, I’ll go park the car,” Sam said from inside the car.

“That sounds fair,” Sienna said. “So, will you get out of the car after you park it?”

"Yes, of course, I can spare a few minutes. Besides, I have your money with me."

Sienna nodded, then closed the back door of the minivan and had Maple close the side door. Next, she led her group of sisters to the inner wall of the underpass.

An old graffiti—with words she didn't want her sisters to know but worried it was too late—covered the entrance, though the door to the base was relatively easy to open…provided she could free one hand.

Sienna opened a small panel, pushed the wires aside, then inserted the key into the lock and turned the handle.

The door hissed open, and a flat concrete slab slid off the wall. Its edges were so tightly fitted that it was almost invisible until it was pushed open.

Her sisters, naturally fearless, rushed into the base without hesitation. The passageway was originally a dusty gray corridor, but after several weekends of exploration and renovation, the situation... had improved somewhat.

The walls have now been painted a bright light green. The local hardware store was having a promotion on this paint at the time, and there was enough to cover the entire area.

There were some spots on the floor where not enough newspaper had been laid, resulting in paint splatter, and the edges weren't painted very well. But it was still much better than the previous monotonous gray.

There is now a rather well-painted picture on the door at the end of the passage that leads to the main area of ​​the base.

Trinity is indeed very talented in painting, and she has six arms, three heads, and works quite quickly.

The painting depicts a large bear, three raccoons, a beaver, and an owl, all smiling and wearing domino masks, which is quite adorable.

But what's less appealing is the large portrait of a blonde woman in the background, wearing a robe that looks like it's being blown by the wind, with her arms outstretched.

Sunlight streamed down from her and fell on the backs of the animals, giving the entire background an almost...religious feel, which always made Sienna feel uneasy.

Maple Leaf opened the door, and they quickly entered their new home.

The main area of ​​the base has a dormitory-like area with several rooms, each just big enough to fit a bed and a small desk. Further in is the kitchen area, and there's also a slightly larger room, which Sienna uses as her own.

In the middle of the base, there are several pillars that reach straight to the ceiling. They are thick and strong, and look so solid that they could support the whole world. Whenever a semi-trailer truck rumbles by on the highway above, these pillars make people feel very safe.

There was a depression in the floor, in which sat a wraparound sofa—made entirely of concrete.

However, they bought a lot of brightly colored cushions, and the sisters also put stickers on their respective doors and hung some curtains at the entrance to the kitchen to separate the kitchen from other areas.

Her father donated an old television from his workplace, which is now sitting on a shelf.

There's no signal here, but they have a DVD player, and Teddy has a few nature documentaries, which add some background noise to the space.

This place... doesn't feel like home; it doesn't have that homey feel like a dorm. It still lacks a sense of home. But maybe it will feel more like home soon.

Regardless, Sienna sighed, put down the box in her hand, and rubbed her lower back.

"Alright, let's take everything apart."

Although the younger sisters hate packing, they seem to really enjoy unpacking boxes. Maybe they think it's like unpacking a present? Even if they packed these things themselves not long ago.

Sienna couldn't help but laugh as she watched her sisters make a bit of a mess. Of course, she would make them clean it up later, but sometimes it was nice to see her four sisters having so much fun.

Maple Leaf looked up, met Sienna's gaze, and smiled shyly. For a fleeting moment, Sienna felt that everything was moving in a positive direction.

Sam opened the door, looked at the mess, and raised an eyebrow. "You know, someone has to clean up this mess," she said.

“It wasn’t me!” Athena said.

Everyone else chimed in, and then they started arguing about who didn't have to clean up, while Sienna simply ignored them.

Have you found a parking spot?

Sam nodded. "Oh, found it. There's a convenience store near the corner of the exit ramp, one of those multi-purpose stores with a gas station."

The coffee was awful, and the snacks were outrageously expensive… but they did have those mini hot dogs that were grilled on a rotating machine, and they tasted much better than I expected.”

“I think I know that shop,” Sienna said.

"Well, anyway, I parked the car there. I chatted with the guy at the counter a bit, and he said it was no problem."

"Trying to get closer?" Sienna asked.

“It’s like smearing butter on other people,” Teddy said. “That way they’ll taste better, right?”

Sam laughed, ruffled Teddy's hair, making her ears wiggle. "Of course, that's one explanation."

When you're older and start to realize that boys aren't just about snacks, ask me again, and I'll tell you a different story.

Sienna realized she was talking about flirting, a topic she knew absolutely nothing about. "Hopefully that's a long way off," Sienna said.

“Boys are disgusting,” Athena said.

“They have lice,” Trinity chimed in. “I heard it on TV.”

"What is that?" Maple Leaf asked.

“That’s a disease they have that makes them stupid and dirty,” Trinity said, stopping picking her nose and crossing her arms.

Sam smiled and nodded. "That's absolutely right."

“Maybe we can heal them?” Maple whispered, her voice just loud enough for Sienna to hear. Her eyes were a little vacant, just like before she was about to take something apart.

Sienna... decided to leave her alone for now. After all, lice aren't real things, so she figured Maple Leaf was just something to tinker with and have some fun with.

"Would you like to talk about the finances?" Sam asked.

“Okay,” Sienna said, “Let’s talk in the kitchen?”

They headed towards the kitchen, the younger sisters playing happily on their own, while Teddy turned on one of her nature documentaries, and the television successfully captured their attention.

“Well, we have a lot to talk about,” Sam said, taking out his phone and opening… well, it was an expense tracking app.

"The expenses were actually quite low, but I included all the gasoline costs in the budget, and I also set aside some money for clothing."

The girls need new clothes. Although the laundromat theoretically pays us protection money, we still have to be careful when using their services, as it can cost quite a bit of money.

However, besides that, we can still make a lot of money.

“Really?” Sienna asked.

"Well, in a way. I can earn a few hundred dollars a week. That's enough to cover expenses like food bills."

I think this is nothing compared to the funds needed to operate a real villainous operation. But hey, this is Auclair, after all.

“Yes, we don’t have any real villains here,” Sienna said.

Thank goodness.