The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Athena looked up from the cards in her hand and glanced across the table.

Her sisters quickly lowered their eyes to avoid eye contact with her.

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue lightly, then turned her attention back to the cards in front of her. Without eye contact, the game was much harder to play, but after she tried to cheat a dozen times, her sisters had all learned their lesson.

Of course, cheating was perfectly allowed, as long as it wasn't too blatant. She looked at Trinity, who had two clones crammed into one chair. She wasn't very good at card games because she had a hard time concentrating, but she was adept at secretly giving herself a few good cards, and when she was really focused, her math skills were the best among her sisters. Trinity wasn't allowed to shuffle the cards, otherwise she would definitely have shuffled the best hand for herself.

Athena turned her attention to Maple Leaf. Maple Leaf wasn't very good at cheating, but she had an amazing memory for who had what cards and which cards had already been played.

Then there's Teddy. Teddy isn't very good at this game, and she's not very good at counting either, but if she catches someone cheating, she'll turn into a bear and pounce on that person.

"Do you have a 4?" Athena asked.

Teddy grinned. "Go fish (a card game term meaning no card the opponent wants)," she said.

"Tsk." Athena clicked her tongue again and drew a card from the deck in the middle of the table.

The others played their cards in turn, while Athena mentally calculated her strategy. Just then, a familiar voice came from deep within the house, and they all exchanged glances. "The boss isn't back this early yet," Teddy said.

"Is it the enemy?" Maple asked. She was wearing one of her older sister's hoodies, which was way too big for her. She quietly reached into her front pocket and pulled out a gun.

“Could be a hero, yes,” Teddy said. She looked up and sniffed the air. “Doesn’t smell like that arrogant kind of person.”

Trinity perked up. "It's Sam," she said.

Athena and the others relaxed. They were just the boss's top subordinates. But caution was still advised; after all, they were villains in a world of heroes. They could easily get into trouble because of some righteous person.

Moreover, Sienna might show up together; they both want to be the first to receive her welcoming hug.

“Hey, kids!” Sam called out. “Oh, hey, Trinity, how are you?” The two Trinitys sitting opposite Athena shook their heads from side to side, as if an invisible hand were patting their heads.

"Should we pause the game now?" Athena asked.

“You’re only saying that because you’re going to lose,” Teddy said.

Athena stuck her tongue out at Teddy (who might be right), then put down her cards and jumped up from her chair. “I’m going to say hello to Sam!” she said.

She left the kitchen, her sisters following behind, and found Sam in the main hall of the underground bunker. Sam was grinning, vigorously rubbing Trinity's head, making her raccoon ears flutter. "Hi, Sam," Athena said.

“Oh, hey, all the kids are here,” Sam said, releasing Trinity. “What are you doing?”

“We’re playing a fishing game. Would you like to join us?” Athena asked. Sam didn’t know he shouldn’t make eye contact with her; if she joined, it might throw the game off balance.

Sam smiled. "No, I don't think it's necessary. I just came to deliver some things." She held up her other hand, which was carrying several large shopping bags.

“I can help,” Athena said. “Where do you put all these?” She noticed a few bags at Sam’s feet, probably left there when Sam started touching Trinity’s head.

"Put it in the fridge. And these things can't be eaten directly; they all need to be processed first. Sorry, ladies," Sam said.

Athena picked up a few bags, and Trinity picked up the last one; they smiled at each other. They followed Sam into the kitchen, where he placed the bags on the counter and began taking things out. Trinity opened and closed the refrigerator door, while Athena and Sam organized the food.

"You just came to deliver food?" Athena asked.

“No, I also have news to tell your eldest sister,” Sam said. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“Ah, I think it’ll be about an hour,” Athena said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Maybe less than an hour?”

“Oh, it’s okay. I can wait that long,” Sam said.

"What news do you have to tell her?" Athena asked.

Sam hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure whether to tell Athena, then she shrugged. "Okay. I think I know where Luttells will be next."

Hearing this, Athena perked up. "You know?"

"He's been showing up at several bars these past few days. He goes in and talks to the people there. Looks like he's recruiting his own people. I don't know how it's going. He got into a fight at one bar, then showed up at another. But people will always join him. He's got money."

Athena frowned. Rattles shouldn't have any followers. He was the boss's enemy. They were the ones with followers; he couldn't. "We should tell anyone who joins him they're in big trouble. Or we can tell the heroes about them and have them all arrested. That way we might find out where Rattles's base is."

“Wow, you would do something so mean to your men?” Sam asked.

“It’s aimed at Rattles’s men,” Athena said. She patted Sam on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You’re one of our men, so we won’t let the heroes capture you.”

"Wow, thanks, kid. You're pretty good at comforting people," Sam said.

Athena puffed out her chest. Yes, this was something she excelled at. Perhaps Sienna would put her in charge of managing her subordinates? "Where is he recruiting? Just some random bar?"

"No, random bars are full of shady characters. Most bars are near universities. In fact, recruiting there might make sense. University students are notoriously easy to recruit."

Athena shrugged and noted the information down for later use. "So, where exactly is it?"

“It’s mainly a motorcyclist bar,” Sam said.

Athena straightened up. A motorcyclist bar? Like the one she'd been to once? She stared at a spot for a moment. How dare he recruit from a place she'd been to! That was a source of recruits she hadn't even developed yet, not his. Even though she hadn't had any contact with those motorcyclists for a while.

Perhaps she should make a change.

After Athena helped Sam put his things away, Sam's attention was drawn to the others. Eventually, he sat down at the table, half his attention on his phone and the other half on Athena's sisters, all of whom were trying to make a good impression on their chief subordinate in their own ways.

Athena quietly slipped out of the kitchen and returned to her room. On the way, she tugged at Trinity's sleeve. "Hey, I'm going out for a bit."

“You’re going out?” Trinity asked. “Are you allowed to go out?”

“No one said I can’t go out,” Athena said.

For Trinity, that reason was enough. "Would you like me to come with you?"

She shook her head, then changed her mind. "Actually, maybe? That way, if anything happens, you can tell other people."

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Trinity said. “We’re just playing cards, and I don’t need to use my brain much to play.”

Judging from her win rate, that was indeed the case, but Athena didn't say it aloud. She was the only one in the family so concerned with keeping track of who had won the most times and who had lost the most. "I'll go change my clothes and then come find you," she said.

“Do we need to wear costumes?” Trinity asked.

"Hmm, probably not. But maybe bring a mask or something, just in case."

“Okay!” Trinity said, rushing into her room to change out of her pajamas from the daytime. Athena did the same. Her room wasn't big, nor were theirs, but it had a decent wardrobe with some clothes inside. Many of the clothes were donated by Steffi's mother, and some were hand-me-downs that the new subordinates had brought along. Oh, and the big bosses would sometimes send them clothes too. Mostly new socks and underwear, but new things were always good.

She put on a hoodie and loose cargo pants, then slipped on her leather jacket. She'd come in handy where she was going.

She met Trinity at the door. "Are we going to get into trouble?" Trinity asked. Judging from the way she wagged her tail, she seemed to think getting into trouble wasn't such a bad thing.

“Don’t worry. This is my business, and I never get into trouble,” Athena said. “Besides, if there is any trouble, I’ll take responsibility. Don’t worry.”