The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

“He’s a strange guy, isn’t he?” Meraton asked.

Sienna nodded, her gaze sweeping across the room to where the comforter was entertaining a group of children. At first, he was indeed a little intimidating. His tall stature made this impression even more pronounced when he stood among the children. But his comical pantomimes and childlike jokes, not to mention the gifts, won him many little fans.

“He’s a bit eccentric,” Sienna said. “I’d never heard of him before.”

“Comforters aren’t the kind of heroes you hear about all the time,” Meraton said. She leaned against a wall, arms crossed, looking incredibly unapproachable. Sienna wished she had that aloof aura. Sienna herself was lonely and craved social interaction; while Meraton was a loner, adept at socializing yet seemingly unwilling to put in the effort. There was a world of difference between them.

"I think so. Did you know him before? He seems to know you."

Meraton shrugged lazily. "We've met. To be honest, I wouldn't be involved in these hospital matters if it weren't for him."

“Oh?” Sienna asked.

“He has a knack for making you feel guilty without ever instilling any guilt in you. He’s not my kind of hero. Probably not yours either,” Meraton said. She rubbed her nose with her thumb and shook her head. “Do you understand what I mean?”

"I... don't quite understand?"

“Yes. That’s right. Some heroes do it for the money, some for the fame, and people like me do it because it’s something to do, and we’re perfectly capable of doing it. Then there are those who do these things but don’t seem to want to.” She gave Sienna a meaningful look, making her uncomfortable. “And then there are heroes like the Comforter. He doesn’t want fame, he doesn’t want money. His income is about the same as a regular HRF agent. He does it simply because it’s the right thing to do.”

"Then... isn't that much better?"

"Of course. If what matters most to you is who has done the most good deeds, then ultimately... let's put it this way, after we're all gone, if there really is a scale of cause and effect, I don't want to use my heart and the comforter's feather to measure it."

“Uh,” Sienna said. She wasn’t sure if the analogy was appropriate, but didn’t want to point it out.

“You’d better keep an eye on your bratty little sister,” Meraton said, “lest she incite a revolution.”

Sienna whirled around to look at her sisters. Trinity… was actually jumping and skipping around the comforter with the other children. Some of the children were playing with her tail, and she seemed to be behaving quite well.

On the other hand, Teddy was at the other end of the room with a group of older children, and even teenagers. She was standing at a plastic children's table, holding her little red book beside her. "Oh no," Sienna muttered, and hurried across the room to get there.

Teddy's eyes burned with passion, and her audience listened intently. "Listen, capitalism is like... like a hero in a comic book, but it's real. It exploits the weak, just like those heroes exploit us."

“But heroes are good people, aren’t they?” a teenager said.

“No, they aren’t,” Teddy said firmly. “Communism is the best. It’s like… like being in a team where everyone has a voice, everyone gets an equal share of the spoils, equal touches, and equal space in bed! No more despicable capitalists stealing your hard-earned money!”

“Teddy… Ursula Minor,” Sienna said, running up behind Teddy, “Uh, what are you talking about?”

Teddy turned around, his face devoid of any remorse. "I'm teaching my new comrades how to be better citizens."

“Hmm,” Sienna said, “Uh… I mean… I don’t think it violates any rules, strictly speaking.”

“Everyone, this is the boss,” Teddy said, gesturing to Sienna, “She’s the best.”

“Really?” a boy asked, his tone full of the sarcastic sarcasm typical of teenagers.

“Yeah,” Teddy said. Sienna sensed that she hadn’t caught the sarcasm in his words.

She paused. Teddy preaching… It doesn’t violate any rules, right? One of her sisters encouraging others to get involved in politics might annoy some people, but at the same time, this is a free country. Sienna wasn’t sure if this would cause any major trouble, but it seemed that Teddy had at least gained some followers, and it had successfully diverted the attention of kids who thought they were too old or too cool to participate in comforter activities.

“Uh, I just came to see you,” Sienna lied. “You go on, uh, do a good job. But please, don’t incite anyone to rebel or anything, okay?”

“Don’t incite them in the hospital,” Teddy nodded in agreement.

Sienna didn't think there was time to delve into the matter, so she simply patted Teddy's head. The comforting act seemed to be almost over anyway. "Keep it up, okay?"

She walked toward the comforter who was heading toward the exit. On the way, she encountered Trinity and bent down to speak to her. "Could you please keep an eye on Teddy? She hasn't done anything wrong, but I'm still worried that she might, uh, lead someone else to do something."

“Okay, big sister!” Trinity said, giving a thumbs up.

Sienna patted her on the shoulder and then ran after the comforter.

“You’re so busy,” the comforter said as she caught up.

"what?"

"You're dealing with those little heroes. Are they part of your team?" he asked.

“Oh, right. We have our own team,” Sienna explained. “We don’t have an official team name yet, and not much else. I’m the oldest, and I’m trying to make sure everything is basically safe.”

The comforter nodded. "I was thinking we could try to find that group that's patrolling the hospital? It shouldn't be too hard to find them!"

“Sure, of course,” Sienna said. “Um… do you know Meraton?”

"I know them! I know a lot of heroes. I'm not bragging, it's just that I'm often in hospitals, and so are most heroes. At least those heroes without supernatural powers. Even some with extraordinary abilities sometimes participate in events like this to raise funds or something. So I'll run into everyone sooner or later."

“I think that makes sense,” Sienna said.

“I hope so,” the comforter said with a smile. “Meradun… I think I met her two years ago? She wasn’t dressed like this back then. Believe it or not, she used to be much more unconventional. As far as I know, she’s a very capable hero. But she doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. If you’ve worked at HRF long enough, you’ll know they have a certain… specific image to their heroes.”

“A specific image?” Sienna pressed.

“Bright colors and tight clothes,” he grinned, “I personally don’t like them. I tried on a tight-fitting outfit once, and then… no, it didn’t suit me.”

“I… no, I think I agree with you on this point,” Sienna said. The thought of parading around in public in that kind of tight-fitting outfit gave her goosebumps. If she had to dress like “Glamour Woman” normally, Sienna would rather lock herself at home and never go out again.

The comforter nodded. “I want to be approachable and friendly. I’ve found that those overly fantastical heroes, while great role models, often… create a sense of distance. They try so hard to appear otherworldly, but the people I want to help are real, ordinary people. That’s why they need help. I don’t want to be aloof like a savior. I want to be a good neighbor and a good friend first.”

Sienna listened and followed along. She felt she needed to find time to sit down and think carefully about what it truly meant to be a hero.

"Hey, hey, hey! Look who's here!" someone shouted from ahead.

Sienna blinked, looked up, and almost froze. They had run into the group that was making their rounds at the hospital. There was Maple Leaf, Trinity, and three HRF staff members, and among them, with his chest puffed out and his hair neatly combed, was Silver Fox.

“Fox!” the comforter said. “It’s nice to see you, man.”

The two quickly shared a brotherly embrace, and the comforter and the veteran hero immediately began chatting about various things. Sienna quietly walked past. She was always nervous around Silver Fox. This man gave her… a strange feeling. He was too charismatic.

“Hi, Maple Leaf, nice to see you again, Trinity,” Sienna said. “Did you two have fun?”

Trinity nodded, but Maple shook her head slightly, never making eye contact with Sienna.

"What's wrong?" Sienna asked.

Maple Leaf finally raised its head, tears welling in its eyes. In an instant, Sienna became alert. Something must have happened.