The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sam leaned against the wall, because finding a seat was out of the question at the moment, even though her feet were killing her.

The back room of Azip's pizzeria was far too small for such a clandestine operation, but at the same time, the layout was just right.

There were two small tables inside, one near the door, where they had piled up the pizzas they had bought.

Sienna's gang of kids were crowding around, stuffing food into their mouths.

There were also several refrigerators in the room, as well as shelves for cheese bags and flour sacks, and several large stacks of unfolded pizza boxes piled from floor to ceiling.

There was a large table in the middle of the room, with several chairs around it.

They placed four chairs on one side of the table and one chair on the other side.

Sienna sat alone in that chair, looking imposing yet anxious.

She sat on a high stool, leaning slightly forward, her knees occasionally brushing against the bottom of the table, but this did little to help.

She looked down at her newly recruited henchmen with a superior air, causing the four of them to lean back and try to stay as far away from her as possible.

Sam has started to like Sienna a little like an older sister.

She found it somewhat ironic, since Sienna herself often played the role of the older sister.

This girl was a walking contradiction. She was a social disaster Sam had never seen before.

It's a miracle that Sienna can successfully complete a conversation without having a panic attack.

However, when the situation becomes urgent, Sienna will... become ruthless.

This girl was as confident as a kitten facing a wolf.

But sometimes, when she puts on her uniform and things go wrong, she suddenly springs into action, with an astonishingly high efficiency.

Sienna may not want to be a villain, but the longer Sam spends with her, the more he understands why she's in that position.

This is less about the need for a stereotypical villain to commit evil and morally depraved acts, and more about Sienna not conforming to the world's expectations of her.

Sam blinked, then pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and scribbled down the idea.

In fact, this would be a good side topic in her thesis.

The connection between heroism and conformity, and the relationship between villainy and disobedience.

After all, heroes often strive to maintain the status quo, even when that status quo is clearly unfair.

Yes, this would be a good topic to expand on the paper.

Sam was pleased with her idea. She turned a page in her notebook and looked up. The so-called interview was about to begin.

Sam, who has recently acquired the title "Red Henchman" (should she dye her hair red?), is considered a veteran member of the boss's villainous organization.

Moreover, because Sienna is sometimes a bit unreliable, the organization mostly relies on her to keep things afloat.

Sienna cleared her throat and looked to the side. Athena stood there, a long slice of pizza dangling from her mouth, her cheeks bulging.

Another oil stain appeared on the front of her skirt, and Sam knew Sienna would be furious once she noticed it.

She made another note in her notebook: Get a used washing machine for the base.

“Well then,” Sienna began. When playing the role of the leader, she would always deliberately lower her voice, at least for the first sentence or two.

Then Sienna will forget, and her voice will return to normal...

Sam had been waiting for the right moment to point it out. It would be hilarious to see Sienna so embarrassed she wanted to die.

“How do you deal with high-pressure situations?” Sienna asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow. Sienna went straight to the point, at least she didn't ask, "What do you think you'll be like in five years?"

The henchmen looked at each other, then seemed to decide who would answer first.

Sam made a small note of this. The fact that they could communicate effortlessly through nonverbal means indicated that they knew each other very well.

She had a vague feeling that these four people were friends, and now it's confirmed.

“Hmm,” said Liam, the shorter, red-haired guy Sam suspected of working out regularly. “I’m not so sure what it would be like under the pressure of working out with the masked man, but I think we’ve all dealt with some really stressful things when we’ve worked together.”

“Liam, I don’t think board games count,” Chloe said.

Sam nearly slapped his own face. Indeed, the people Sienna had managed to find and persuade to work with her for so long were undoubtedly die-hard fans of the Masked Man game.

That...that makes sense now. Otherwise, who would be willing to risk following an unknown person?

“I understand,” Sienna said. “Well, let’s say it does. So, our organization, well, is not affiliated with the Hero Response Team (HRT), nor is it associated with any other hero or villain group.”

If you work for me, for us, then I hope you can keep some secrets. I don't want anyone to do things that make them uncomfortable—”

“What? That’s not right!” Trinity said.

Sienna turned halfway around and glared at the raccoon-like girl.

Trinity glared back defiantly, pouting and muttering, "You always tell me not to put things in my mouth."

Sienna then turned to her newly recruited henchmen. "Most of the time I won't make you do things you're uncomfortable with, but I still need to know if you can, uh, be loyal!"

“This feels a bit… well, there’s a hidden meaning here. No offense, boss,” Lucas said. “It doesn’t feel right to demand such loyalty from us without giving anything in return, does it?”

“That…makes sense. I think…I can’t promise anything too significant, but I feel that if you agree to help me, I will help you in return.”

We didn't make a lot of money, but we did make some. And, well, maybe this experience was worth the effort?

“She’s right,” Ethan said. “Where else can we go to deal with real masked people? That could be amazing story material.”

“Stories can’t afford rent,” Lucas pointed out.

Sam thought to himself, "This is a really painful truth."

She enjoyed working with Sienna and the children, and she herself aspired to be involved, but it was indeed a bit expensive, especially at the beginning.

However… “We will indeed give you some compensation,” Sam said.

"Our protection system consists partly of monthly donations collected from local shop owners, in which we protect them from threats such as villains."

Of course, this money will be used for many expenses, but a portion will also be used to pay salaries. To be precise, this isn't the kind of salary that's subject to taxation.

Of all the things Sam has been involved in lately that are a bit illegal, not paying taxes isn't really a big deal.

She mainly held onto a firm hope that this matter wouldn't come knocking on her door.

“It would be great to have a salary,” Lucas nodded, and his friends all had the same expression on their faces.

Sienna was about to continue speaking when her phone rang.

All eyes turned to her, and Sam barely managed to suppress his laughter as he watched Sienna's neck and exposed cheeks gradually turn red.

"Wait a minute," she muttered as she finally managed to pull her phone out of her pocket.

Sienna frowned as she glanced at the screen, then answered the phone while still standing, even as everyone was watching her. "Hello?"

Sienna's brow furrowed even more.

“Glamour Woman, speak slowly,” she said.

Upon hearing this, the henchmen perked up, probably because they had casually mentioned the name of another local hero.

Sam felt that he could easily win over this group by using the celebrity effect.

“Oh… well… yes, that’s not good,” Sienna said. “Yes… umm… uh, okay, alright? Maybe?”

The girl frowned. "Let me see if there's anything I can do, but I can't guarantee anything."

Sienna put down her phone, hung up, and then stared blankly at the air for a while, frowning.

"What's wrong, boss?" Sam asked.

"Uh. You guys know that new villain who appeared recently, right? The one who defeated Charm Girl. He's back again."

Sam blinked. "What's he doing now?"

“He robbed an armored truck downtown,” Sienna said. “Glamour Woman didn’t know all the details, but it sounds like he overturned the truck and then stole everything inside?”

“This is a problem,” Sam said. “We have some customers downtown. He’s robbing their money.”

“Yes,” Sienna said. Sam could tell she was trying to hide her unease.

The eldest sister has to respond to this, and since they're all in uniform and close together, it'll be difficult for her to find an excuse to leave.

“Alright. Henchmen, girls, let’s go. Let’s see if we can stop this villain called ‘Rattlesnake’ before he gets too much trouble.”

"Alright!" Teddy shouted the loudest. "Let that bastard know he shouldn't be running wild on our turf!"