The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sam looked up from his laptop and gazed across the room.

She quickly counted the heads; she had become extremely proficient at this skill over the past few weeks.

One, two, three - four - five, six... Teddy is over there, so there are four minor villains and six heads.

The girls are currently in a park on the edge of Eau Claire, about a ten-minute walk from the campus.

This should have been a bustling park, but it has become infamous because college students often loiter there and harass teenagers and other visitors.

Today, the area is overgrown with weeds, and the fitness equipment is old and outdated. All these factors combined have made this place deserted.

Perhaps there's another reason: most of the kids she knows would rather go online at night than run around among these rusty climbing frames.

Sam glanced at the screen again, and after hearing a gasp, she subtly switched the screen to some homework pages.

Sienna ran over, panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

She stopped not far from the picnic table that Sam had claimed for himself, took some water from the bottle, drank half of it in one gulp, and then, with a pitiful groan, started running again.

Sam switched back to the document she had opened earlier and reread the last few lines. She went back to the beginning, trying to refine her summary.

[Abstract: This is a confidential field study aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the psychological characteristics, motivations, and personalities of a group of anonymous individuals engaged in villainous activities.]

The goal of this study is to construct psychodynamic profiles of these villains, while exploring their psychological states, beliefs, and the reasons behind their behaviors.

Sam squinted at the screen. Was this too formal? Or not formal enough?

She had to make anyone who read this summary take it seriously from the start, because much of what followed was far less serious.

Honestly, when she joined Sienna's rabble, she thought things would be simpler and clearer.

That's how it should be. Sienna herself...from a psychological perspective, is a complete mess, but what about her sisters?

Oh, they should have been a treasure trove for research! Living beings created and used by villainous forces, possessing their own superpowers.

They were not born normally, and initially, they should not be guided or shaped in any way except to be their own "nature".

This is a perfect example of a villain defined by "superpowers".

Research on superpowers is still relatively new.

There might be millions of dollars in research funding sitting there, waiting for someone to come and take it.

Not to mention the influence behind it.

Sam tried to calm his wildly beating heart. Later, later.

Her fingers hovered above the keyboard as she read what she had written again.

There are very few similar studies that she can refer to.

Several papers have been published that track superheroes, but those are often... too perfect.

They made almost no impact on the psychology community.

She felt that something more authentic might work, and that this might offset some of the problems she faced with the need for a high degree of confidentiality in her report.

She cannot reveal their superpowers, weaknesses, or any similar information.

This is not only a betrayal of Sienna, but it also makes her appear to be clearly pursuing fame and fortune.

Everything requires striking a delicate balance. But Sam is very good at finding that balance.

Besides... she quite liked these kids. Sienna felt the same way.

It took her some time to like them, but now they're like little nieces she'd never had before.

She scrolled down the page and stopped at a section near the beginning of the report.

Her research methodology was a complete mess, and she decided to deal with it another day.

【Research Results】

[Contradiction in behavioral expectations]

[A significant aspect contradicts what the title anticipates: the difference in behavior typical of villains. The study subjects possessed a set of moral standards that, theoretically, belong to typical villains. They disrespected the authority of government or law enforcement agencies, were primarily concerned with their own small group, considered theft, arson, or harming others acceptable, and even found the suffering of others amusing.]

They take pride in being as "evil" as possible, crave dominance and control over others, are praised for their wickedness, and consider themselves more powerful than anyone around them.

On the surface, these actions portray the subjects of the study as purely evil villainous forces.

Sam hummed softly. Was she exaggerating? From this point on, she was going to deviate from what people expected to read, and nobody, not even self-proclaimed scientists, liked reading things that contradicted their preconceived notions.

No, perhaps it would be better to exaggerate a bit here.

She flexed her fingers to make sure they were flexible, then continued writing.

These villainous tendencies contradict the observed behavior.

When asked, most of the study participants admitted that they were evil, villainous, and quite cruel.

However, upon observation, it becomes clear that their behavior contradicts this self-description.

They show care for each other and concern for each other's well-being, care about what others think of them, and are remarkably loyal.

Their actual, verifiable villainous behavior is mostly simple, stemming from their feeling of no need to integrate into the wider society.

These behaviors may be harmful—such as petty theft, or acts that could be considered burglary, as well as threats of physical violence—but in most cases, the actual harm caused to the study subjects is minimal.

In this respect, these villains are no more immoral than an uneducated child.

They are not bound by the moral constraints and rules that people raised in civilized modern society might accept, yet they uphold other moral elements more firmly than those born and raised in the same society.

Sam leaned back sharply, stretched his arms overhead, and cracked his knuckles. She thought a few sentences were well-written. However, she still needed to polish them a bit.

The conclusion she slowly drew was somewhat clichéd and boring—the kind of thing that would make a first-year sociology student roll their eyes. However, she couldn't think of a better conclusion for the time being.

She looked up and saw the girls swinging on the old, rusty crossbar.

Maple Leaf was an exception; she was over there in the sandpit, building a... multi-layered sandcastle with lever doors made of torn soda bottles and something that looked like a missile silo on one side.

It seems to be in the sandcastle stage, so Sam decides to leave it alone.

Sienna ran back from the other lap of the park. She was sweating more than usual and looked like she was about to faint.

"Having fun?" Sam asked, switching to the report page.

"Uh..." Sienna's sound wasn't quite a word, but it conveyed a lot of meaning.

“That sounds interesting,” Sam said. She didn’t mind Sienna’s recent enthusiasm for exercising. It might be good for the tall, thin girl to gain some muscle.

“This is the happiest moment of my life,” Sienna said, leaning against the table.

She picked up the water bottle, drank the rest of the water in one gulp, and then pressed her hand against her ribs. "I've got a stitch," she groaned.

"It'll be fine in a bit," Sam said.

Sienna wiped her forehead, then stared aimlessly at something.

Sam thought she was probably staring at the concept of "exercise" itself.

If Sam is "exercising," she won't be too worried.

Sienna can be startling at times, but usually only occasionally at crucial moments.

At other times, she's like a wet towel, not very intimidating.

“This is good for me,” Sienna said, as if encouraging herself. “And the exercise is good for them too.”

The girls were running around. Someone stepped on the sandcastle base of Maple Leaf, and now Maple Leaf was holding... "Is that a knife?" chasing after the person.

Sienna whirled around. "Maple Leaf! No knife! No, I don't care if you made it yourself or not."

Yes, Trinity may deserve it, but don't you dare stab your sister! Sienna bent down and took a second water bottle out of her bag.

She unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp. "They'll kill me," she said.

“They really have personality,” Sam said.

"Yes."

“Have you ever thought about what they would be like if the circumstances were different? You know, maybe they would be more… normal?” Sam asked tentatively.

“What’s different?” Sienna glanced at her.

“I don’t know. More…normal?” Sam tried to say.

Sienna was silent for a while, then shook her head. "No. No, I can't imagine them becoming normal." She put the bottle on the picnic table and started running again.

Sam grinned. As far as she was concerned, being "abnormal" was good. That meant more to write about.