The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna understood that she should wear special clothing or at least disguise herself when she went to meet Handshaw.

The problem is, she didn't have anything that could be considered a disguise at all.

Sienna rummaged through all the clothes she hadn't had time to organize, and finally found a pair of old work pants she used to wear when she was growing flowers at home. She paired them with a simple T-shirt and then put on a thick jacket.

She turned up her collar and wrapped a scarf around the lower half of her face to keep warm, so that she could at least partially cover her face in the mirror.

However, she only covered herself slightly, and she felt that it wouldn't be difficult for others to recognize her.

An old pair of sunglasses and a woolen hat her mother knitted for her helped a little, but it was hardly a decent disguise.

But it doesn't matter, since she didn't want to wear the special outfit anyway.

Getting a costume and a mask meant admitting she was involved in this drama between heroes and villains, something she knew very well was the last thing she wanted to do.

As for Teddy, hiding her is both difficult and easy.

Teddy was wearing an oversized bear hoodie and a scarf around his face, making him look like a big brown bear.

She insisted on wearing shorts, which resulted in her two slender calves being exposed under the pile of fabric of her hoodie, and her feet wearing a pair of loosely tied hiking boots.

"Uh, are you ready?"

"I'm ready anytime, boss."

Sienna smiled; at least she could rely on Teddy's confidence. She reached out her hand to the bear girl, who immediately grabbed it tightly, and then they set off.

The park that the text message directed her to wasn't far away.

One side of the park is right next to a university campus, and there are several outdoor soccer fields and other practice areas nearby.

As Sienna and Teddy walked through the campus, the sun hadn't yet set, but it was already clearly slanting westward, and the temperature was getting a bit cooler as the sun dipped below the horizon.

The people she encountered who were still wearing T-shirts all seemed nervously regretting their clothing choices, so she felt that there was nothing wrong with dressing more warmly.

“Wait…wait until we see those people in the park,” Sienna cautioned, “we have to be careful not to, uh, not let them realize we…we’re in cahoots, understand?”

Teddy nodded. "My name is already hidden."

“Yes, I mean, uh, unless it’s an emergency, don’t turn into a bear, even if Mr. Handshaw is… rude.”

"Then at least I can threaten him a little, right?"

“A threat… should work, right?” Sienna said.

Sienna wondered if this was a side effect of gaining superpowers.

Just a few days ago, she felt afraid at the thought of threatening others.

But now all she can think about is that Handshaw tried to blackmail her and meddle in her affairs; it's all his own fault.

Moreover, even if he provided her with some information, Teddy knew more than he did, so that information wasn't very valuable.

When they arrived at the edge of the park, Sienna realized that she had no idea where in the park she was supposed to meet the other person.

After all, the park is quite large, with winding paths and a small patch of trimmed trees and bushes that doesn't look very natural.

After entering the park, she paused for a moment, then stepped onto one of the winding, cobblestone paths that ran through the entire park.

Sienna arrived only half an hour early, so it was very likely that she would run into Handshaw when he came in. She didn't know how punctual Handshaw was.

As she walked toward the center of the park, she noticed a small pavilion built next to a small pond. Such a picturesque place would certainly look great in a city brochure.

Someone was shouting loudly inside the pavilion.

It might not be called a scream, but the volume of her voice was something Sienna would never dare to use.

It was a woman's sharp voice, filled with anger, and... and Sienna felt like she was about to cry.

She and Teddy exchanged a glance. "I...can we go around that?"

"Then observe them from over there?" Teddy said, pointing to a spot a little further away.

That position would allow them to see what was happening inside the pavilion without appearing too suspicious.

Sienna completely agreed with the idea, as long as she didn't have to deal with those people.

They walked around it, only occasionally glancing back to see what was happening inside the pavilion.

Sienna didn't see what was happening inside the gazebo until they were almost at the spot Teddy had pointed to, and were in a straight line with the open front of the gazebo.

Sienna's heart sank.

Handshaw was there, dressed much more casually than he had been in that secluded back room. One arm was bandaged, and despite wearing sunglasses, it was clear that both his eyes were bruised.

His lips were even cracked.

In front of him stood a short woman with curly hair, her hands on her hips, her body almost bent in two, and a finger hovering in front of Handshaw's face, looking quite frightening.

Sienna bit her lip, pondering what she should do.

Fortunately, Teddy came to the rescue, saying, "Hey, ma'am. Are you going to hit him?"

The woman and Handshaw both turned around abruptly to look at them.

“It’s okay,” Teddy explained. “He’s a capitalist. They all want to steal your food and work you out of your bodies or something.”

Sienna closed her eyes, secretly hoping that she could go home right now and be nagged by her mother to do chores or other ordinary things. Then she opened her eyes and prepared to face the situation before her.

“I think that’s enough, Teddy,” Sienna said softly. “I think we should go see Mr. Handshaw.”

The woman with curly hair took a step back from Handshaw, looked at the two girls, then at Handshaw, and said, "You know this idiot?"

Sienna swallowed hard. Under the woman's gaze, she wilted and slowed her pace. "I...know her."

"What happened?" the woman asked, but not to her, but to Handshaw.

Handshaw frowned. "She... uh, is a new client, very new."

"Like the new clients who came after last week's Superpower Awakening Day?"

"You know I don't easily disclose client information."

The woman scoffed, "Just cling to what little professional skills you have left, Dave. We'll just pretend you're as capable as you want us to believe."

Sienna squeezed Teddy's hand for comfort, then looked back at the woods in the park. "I can... walk, if you want me to?"

“No, stay,” Handshaw said. “She…she’s in the same situation as you.”

Sienna looked at the woman, trying to find something special about her, but found no obvious signs.

If she has superpowers, they're probably the kind that's more subtle.

"okay."

“Damn it, Dave, she looks like a teenager, and that girl doesn’t look more than fourteen,” the woman said, pointing at Teddy.

Handshaw shrugged, a movement that tugged at his shoulder, and he frowned slightly. "You know what happened. Believe me, if I hadn't contacted her in the first place, my life would be much better."

The woman scoffed. "Yeah. I bet that's how it is. You want to tell her all those embarrassing details?"

Sienna shifted her position; this was why she was here—to figure things out as soon as possible so she could go home sooner.

“Yeah. God knows how many more times I’ll have to explain this. Is your phone on?” he asked Sienna.

“Uh,” Sienna said.

“Pull the battery out,” he said, “or take it to the woods and throw it away.”

Sienna stared at him.

“Look at her, you idiot,” the woman said. “You can’t just tell a girl to throw away her phone.”

"This is for safety reasons."

“Then I’ll make your precious thing disappear,” the woman retorted immediately.

Handshaw's face turned ashen as he looked at Sienna. "Never mind then... How much do you know about the 'Desperate Gang'?"

“Hmm…” Sienna replied, “I know nothing.”

Handshaw sighed. "In that case, I'll have to start from the beginning."

“You can omit some details,” the woman added, “and when did you start offering information for free?”

“Ever since those messages dislocated my arm and knocked out three teeth,” he roared, “there are rules, and if those bastards don’t follow them, they have to pay the price.”

"Who beat you up like this?" Teddy asked.

Handshaw shifted on the stone bench. “Let me tell you about Homi and his gang.”