The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

This time it's just Sienna, Sam, and Maple.

While the other girls were taking lessons with Miss Henderson, Sienna found it surprisingly good to be looking after just one girl instead of a bunch of chattering little girls.

Maple Leaf stood close to Sienna, a small hand gripping Sienna's index and middle fingers tightly, while Sam, dressed in what she called "casual wear," walked to Sienna's right.

This means that, unlike Sienna's practical mid-calf skirt and hoodie, Sam wore an off-the-shoulder tank top and denim shorts so tight that he could only hold his phone in his hand and couldn't even put it in his pocket.

"You want to hold a fundraising event?" Sam asked.

“You don’t need to be so surprised,” Sienna said. “It’s a good way to improve, uh, in the city… public relations image.”

“I can think of several ways to improve our public relations image,” Sam said, mimicking Sienna’s tone with a hint of teasing.

Sienna pursed her lips; she didn't quite understand the terminology. "Then what would you say?"

“I think it could be called a PR stunt. But I guess the Human Resources Department (HRF) would call it a ‘strategic exposure campaign’ or a ‘brand awareness enhancement program’ or something like that.”

“Wow,” Sienna said, “that’s actually a little scary.”

“Hey, these are all things I have to learn, you know,” Sam said, winking.

Sienna frowned. "Aren't you majoring in psychology?" she asked.

"Where do you think the most psychologists are employed? Mental health institutions? Please, half the jobs are in marketing, and the highest-paying positions are all there."

“This is really frustrating,” Sienna said.

Sam shrugged. "So, you're organizing a fundraising event. Do you want a big one, or something small? Do you really have a particular charitable cause you care about?"

Or is it just a way to attract attention, or is the plan simply to make a good impression?

“Well, to be honest, the plan is to make some money from fundraising events. Teddy and Trinity both have tasks they can complete in these kinds of events, and… well, I guess Maple Leaf does too. Right?” Sienna said, the last question directed at Maple Leaf.

Maple was startled, briefly squeezing Sienna's hand tighter before nodding. Maple was wearing a bright yellow raincoat, mainly because it was their only long garment, which could hide her conspicuous tail without making her uncomfortable, and the hood also covered her ears.

It hasn't rained for several days, but who would comment on a young girl's fashion sense? Besides, the bright yellow makes her easily noticeable.

“Yes, um, the goal is to complete as many tasks as possible. That means, uh, we have to steal some money from the event. Not too much, but… yeah. Maybe we can return the money later?” She wasn’t sure if doing so would make the whole mission pointless.

Sam shrugged. "Okay, sure, I can play along. So... well, any event with a bunch of heroes in attendance is bound to be a success. We can make this a huge event."

“Larger size means more attention,” Sienna pointed out. More attention means she’ll likely have to deal with more people, not to mention the greater responsibility she’ll bear if any of her sisters do something absolutely wrong. Overall, Sienna doesn’t want that kind of trouble.

“Bigger means more money,” Sam said. “But you might be right. How about a medium-sized one? Do you have a specific theme in mind? Like… raising money for children in hospitals?”

“I won’t steal money meant for sick children,” Sienna said.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay, Miss Kind, so which kind of charity money would you be okay with stealing?"

Sienna blushed. "Uh, if you put it that way..." she said, "I don't know. Maybe... maybe it's about helping the city fight the villains?"

Sam blinked, then laughed. "Oh! That's great! Yes, we can raise money to help the local heroes fight the local villains. Then you can take all the money. Perfect!"

“I’m glad you like the idea,” Sienna said.

"No, no, that's really great. How about we broaden the scope a little? Can we make this charity event look like a neighborhood mutual aid project?"

"Go help the shops that Luttles destroyed. You take three-quarters of the money and give each shop enough to fix a window, that should be about right," Sam said.

“I can make a window repair tool,” Maple Leaf said.

Sienna looked down at Maple Leaf, only able to see the top of his yellow hood. Maple Leaf's eyes were lowered, fixed on the sidewalk. "You can? Hmm. Do you think you can do something to help repair the local shops?"

Maple Leaf finally raised its head, blinking its big eyes. "Hmm. Maybe? Like a cleanup bomb?"

“I don’t like putting those two words together,” Sam said. “Actually, I don’t really like the word ‘bomb’.”

“Well… yes, maybe we should refrain from using bombs for now. But if we can provide some small tools to help local businesses, it might make them think that we, uh, are not just stealing their money.”

“I can think of some things,” Maple Leaf said, “but I should do something to help others first, right?”

“That’s right,” Sienna said, “but I don’t know exactly what can help them. But anything you need is fine as long as it’s not too expensive.”

They parked Sam's van in a nearby parking lot so they could load the stuff back into the van. One of the biggest advantages of moving from the dorms to the underground bunker was the increased space.

Maple Leaf has already set up a small studio for herself to make things.

At this moment, if Sienna ignored the toaster converted into a railgun hanging on the wall, this place would look like a craft art station.

Sienna and Sam slowly came to a stop at the next intersection. They were near a bunch of shops, but now they had to decide where to go first.

"What do you need first?" Sienna asked Maple Leaf.

“Hmm,” Maple Leaf said, “I have a few ideas. But each idea requires different materials.”

"What are your thoughts?" Sam asked.

Maple Leaf nodded. "Hmm, I was thinking we could make a tool for each of the sisters?"

Teddy wants a hammer and a sickle; she keeps talking about it. But I want to make the hammer first. So I need to find her a hammer.

"Hmm, what about for Athena? Actually, I've thought of two things for her. One is to expand the scope of her abilities, and the other is a notebook that can send notes back to the past."

"This... is too outrageous," Sam muttered to himself.

Maple Leaf blinked. "I haven't even finished making it, how could it be abnormal?"

“No, I mean… never mind, go on,” Sam said.

“Okay. Hmm, Trinity… I think we can make her an invisibility cloak. But she needs three.”

Sienna didn't like the idea. Trinity... she is Trinity, and if she became invisible, she would become a nightmare.

On the other hand, Trinity's invisibility makes her safer, but it also makes her a more difficult problem to deal with.

“Okay,” Sienna said. “Anything else?”

Maple Leaf blushed slightly. "I want to make you a business card so people will know who you are," she said. "I was thinking of a little business card making machine?"

“Ah, how cute,” Sam said.

Sienna nodded. "That's a great idea," she said.

“I… I have two more ideas,” Maple Leaf said. “They’re for Steffi, Miss Henderson’s daughter.”

"Yes. She doesn't like her wheelchair, so I want to make her a better one. But it's a big project."

Sienna's heart skipped a beat. She hugged Maple Leaf to calm herself. "That's a very thoughtful idea," she said.

"Do you think I should make a combat mech for Steffi too?" Maple asked.

“Um… maybe we should discuss the details with her mother?” Sienna said.

“Okay,” Maple Leaf said. “My last idea is to make a weapon to deal with Rattles.”

"A gun?" Sam asked.

Maple Leaf shook her head. "No. It's something that can counteract his ability. I think his ability works by vibrating objects. So I want to make an anti-vibration device."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle, and Sienna felt her face burning again.

“Well,” Sam said, “as long as it’s not turned on near my room, it’ll be fine.”

“Sam,” Sienna whispered warningly. Maple looked at her, puzzled. “Anyway, shall we go to the hardware store? You need a hammer, right?”

Maple Leaf nodded quickly. "Yes, thank you!"

Sienna took Maple Leaf's hand again, and they continued their journey, searching for the materials Maple Leaf needed so that Rattles would suffer a bit.