The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Teddy squinted, trying to see his surroundings through the mask.

The older sister replaced the thin plastic straps that held the mask in place with the straps from a pair of goggles, and used hot glue to attach the thicker straps to the inside of the mask so that it could fit her face better.

This made her plastic bear mask much more comfortable. Then, they poked dozens of small holes in the mouth area of ​​the mask and glued a disposable face mask to the inside.

This made her feel much better with the plastic bear mask, but it didn't improve her eyesight. The small eye holes in the mask made it difficult for her to see to the side, and Teddy worried that a hero might sneak up on her.

She had to turn her head sharply and look up at the boss. "Do we really have to go?" Teddy asked. "I don't want to get close to...you know, that kind of person."

Teddy spoke carefully because she and her sisters were on a city bus. They had taken up three seats in the front row, and Teddy was lucky enough to get an aisle seat, right next to her eldest sister.

She was the first to see someone get on the bus. If it was a hero or a villain, they would have to get past Teddy before they could cause any trouble.

“Teddy—” Sienna said, “We’re doing a good deed today, to help others. I hope you all show your best, okay?”

Teddy pouted, but no one could see it. Working with heroes sounded too boring. Working in a hospital sounded even worse. What could Teddy possibly have to do with sick children?

She crossed her arms and snorted. Since the boss said it was important, Teddy figured he could at least give it a try.

After the bus had been traveling for a while, Teddy tried to find some fun with her sisters. Trinity squeezed next to her, blocking the window, so Teddy half-turned around and played rock-paper-scissors (with claws) with Athena.

It's fun for Teddy, at least, because according to the rules she set, only she can use her claws, and claws can win everything.

In reality, they only played three rounds. The rest of the time, Athena was complaining, while Teddy mocked her for losing three games in a row.

Finally, the bus came to a rumble, and Teddy turned to look out the window. They stopped in front of a huge building, which was mainly gray and white, with a large parking lot on one side and a row of ambulances parked next to it.

The large sign at the main entrance of the hospital read "Eau Claire General Hospital," so Teddy knew they had come to the right place.

Unfortunately, besides the regular vehicles and ambulances, there were three unsightly black vans with Hero Response Force (HRF) markings on the sides. The heroes had arrived. She grumbled, but there was nothing she could do.

They got out of the car, and the leader made sure everyone was there. Trinity was still in the car, so she had to go back and get her. Then everyone gathered together, standing on the sidewalk in their uniforms, baking in the sun.

“Alright,” the leader said, “I want everyone to give their best. What did I tell you about the hospital?”

“Even villains wouldn’t rob a hospital,” Teddy and his sisters repeated weakly in unison.

“Great! I’m proud of all of you. If we get through today without any unexpected events, I’ll be even prouder.”

Sienna nodded firmly, then reached out to take a hand. Teddy was the fastest and closest, so she was the first to grab the leader's hand. Then she took Maple's hand with her other hand, and Maple took Trinity's, and so on, one after another, until everyone was holding hands and connected together.

Before crossing the road, they looked around ostentatiously, then walked straight toward the HRF van.

Halfway there, a man carrying a writing board got out of one of the vans to greet them. "Boss? And... a few little heroes?" the man said.

He was tall and thin, completely unlike Teddy's image of an HRF member, but exactly like the bureaucrat she imagined, who was sometimes even more annoying than the HRF members.

"It's us." The leader forced a smile. "Are we late?"

“We just happened to arrive at the right time,” said the man with the writing board. “We’d like to ask if it’s possible to separate the girls? We have a few places that need to be visited.”

"I...I think I can. Can I rotate between different groups?" the leader asked. "By the way, which groups are there?"

“We have three groups,” said the person holding the whiteboard. “One is in the pediatric ward, another is in the hospital lobby where our HRF donation information desk is located, and the third group will visit patients in various wards of the hospital.”

Each group has been assigned a hero. The Charming Warrior is in charge of the entrance hall, Meradun is in the pediatric ward, and Silver Fox is responsible for visiting each ward.

The appeasement envoys will arrive soon, and they will rotate between the various groups. Would you like to work with them?

“Okay,” the eldest sister said. She glanced at her sisters; Teddy tried to straighten up, striking a more imposing pose. Perhaps that way she could get the best assignment.

"Hmm... Alright, Thief (Trinity), you can easily arrange one of yourself in each place. Maple Leaf, could you go with Silver Fox to visit the patients in the wards? Silver Fox... Is he friendly to children? What about shy children?"

The person with the whiteboard nodded. "He's very charismatic, and he's been doing this for a while now. We also have a public relations expert assigned to each group." The person with the whiteboard said with a smile, "Not every hero is good at communication or handling awkward situations. It's great that you're here, and we can't expect you to be perfect in those areas."

“Okay, very good, very good,” the leader said. “Owl Watcher (Athena), you go to the entrance hall. Ursa Minor (Teddy), you can take charge of the pediatric ward, right?”

“No problem, boss!” Teddy said.

A short while later, they parted ways at the hospital entrance. Teddy and Trinity were told to follow another person with a writing tablet, a person Teddy immediately disliked.

The woman looked down at Teddy with a blank expression, speaking to her as if she were a twelve-year-old child, not a vicious villainous bear with the body of a twelve-year-old.

It was annoying, but Teddy kept reminding herself that her older sister would be disappointed if she ate the HRF man with the whiteboard, so she just held Trinity's hand tightly and followed the woman through the entire hospital.

Finally, they came to a large room with a pile of toys on one side. Some saccharine and boring paintings hung on the walls, and chairs were scattered around.

Teddy noticed a hero sitting in a chair in the center of the room, facing a group of children sitting in a semicircle, and she felt a little nervous.

Teddy recognized the woman: Meraton, one of the first heroes Teddy had ever met. But Teddy didn't think Meraton was a good "hero."

She was a very violent and narrow-minded woman. She was almost like a scoundrel, which Teddy could barely accept.

“Oh, hey, the little…kids are here too?” Meraton asked. “You can sit with the others if you want. We’re reading something.” Meraton held up his hand, showing a brightly colored superhero brochure.

Teddy scoffed. “We’re here to bring sick kids closer to us and make them feel better,” she said. “We don’t want to hear stories. We don’t care for that.”

“Yes!” Trinity said, crossing her arms.

A smile flickered in Meraton's eyes. Seeing all the children staring at him, Teddy proudly puffed out his chest.

"That's good, kid. But you'll miss out on the snacks later."

"Yay!" Trinity shouted again, this time even more excited, raising her hands. She skipped forward and sat down on the floor next to the other children. "Hi! I'm a thief, I'm a hero! When's our treat?"

Teddy crossed his arms. They could bring her to places like this and make her act like a boring, pretentious hero, but they couldn't force her to be truly brave.

However, she noticed that not all the children were in front of Meraton; a small group of children were playing on the sofa nearby. Teddy nodded and went over to join them. These children were a little older and looked more sophisticated.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” one of the boys said, “Are you here to brag to us about how great our heroes are? If so, save your time and don’t waste your energy.”

Teddy scoffed dismissively. "No way. Heroes are terrible and stupid. Everyone knows that."

The boys looked at her with renewed interest, and Teddy grinned. This might be an opportunity.

"So, you're all sick, aren't you? But are you fed up with capitalism and its detrimental effects?"