The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna needed someone to talk to, and right now—she didn't want to call her mother, worried she was busy with something else—that would mean complaining to her chief confidant.

Fortunately, Sam is a caring best friend who is happy to listen to Sienna's rambling complaints. In turn, Sienna also listens to Sam's complaints about more mundane and trivial troubles.

In fact, Sienna was a little envious of Sam. She envied not only her social circle, which seemed to encompass most of the campus, but also the things Sam complained about, which were nothing more than gossip, such as who was doing what with whom.

The two of them were currently in a café a block outside the campus. The food was a bit pricey, but overall it was pretty good. There were some booths by the window overlooking a rather bustling street.

Sienna had just finished venting to Sam about the latest gossip in the dorm. A friend of a friend of Sam's started dating a guy, but then broke up with him, whom she described as a "weak misogynist." Then, this girl got together with her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, which infuriated him.

Clearly, the boy was completely drunk and caused trouble at a party where both of his exes were present, resulting in a huge embarrassment in front of everyone.

Sienna wasn't sure if she had understood the story. But the dramatic elements were at least quite interesting.

"And you?" Sam picked up his coffee and gestured towards Sienna before asking.

Sienna groaned and began to recount her recent troubles. "Trinity brought a 'boyfriend' home."

Sam choked on his coffee. "A what?" Her voice suddenly rose.

“He really is a ‘thing,’ that’s right,” Sienna said.

Sam shook his head, leaning forward against the table. "No, stop playing word games, explain. If that guy looks more than a year older than her, I'm ready to teach him a lesson. Where did she find him? How did she find him? Does that guy know she has three bodies?"

Sienna laughed. "That's what she calls it. He? Uh, he's a robot vacuum." She hummed softly, gesturing with her hand on the table as if the robot vacuum was moving.

"You mean one of those small robot vacuums?" Sam asked, her initial anger turning into confusion. She gestured with her hands to indicate the approximate size of a robot vacuum. "Small and cute, it can clean floors, and it can automatically recharge... Well, in that case, this 'boyfriend' isn't so bad."

“Its name is Broomba,” Sienna said. “The girls treat it like a pet. To be honest, it’s quite cute. I don’t know where they found it; I guess it was in some trash can. Maple fixed it up, and Trinity insisted she loved it.”

“That’s quite in Trinity’s style,” Sam said. “So, are you going to take it for a walk?”

“You’re absolutely right,” Sienna said. “Maple gave it legs, so… well, more or less. Now it’s running around the bunker, sucking up dust here and there. I also have to stop Teddy from deliberately scattering breadcrumbs everywhere so the robot vacuum can clean them up.”

“That’s not so bad,” Sam said. “You just told me Trinity brought a boy home, which really startled me. This sounds much milder.”

“I hope it stays this gentle,” Sienna said. “You know, I measured Teddy’s height. She’s grown. Not much, just this much…” She pinched her thumb and forefinger together and then separated them slightly. “But for a few months, that seems like a normal growth rate. We might have to start buying her some new clothes.”

"Let's just wait for them to enter their growth spurt," Sam said.

“I don’t want to wait,” Sienna said.

"Then they get all high on hormones and bring home more than just cleaning supplies. Hmm... have they become infatuated with any celebrities?" Sam asked, her smile either joking or, to put it more bluntly... a little unfriendly.

“Not yet,” Sienna said, “but Athena has a bit of a fascination with classic villains.”

“Oh my God.” Sam leaned back in his seat and blew gently into his glass. “You know, your sisters are growing up, which is a bit worrying, but you’re growing up too.”

"I?"

Sam nodded. "Yes. You're much more confident now than when we first met. You hardly stutter anymore, and although you still try not to draw attention to yourself when you dress, your demeanor is different."

Sienna blinked. She...did notice some changes in herself, but she thought they were minor and unlikely to be noticed by others. "Thank you, I guess so."

"Hey, I'm planning to become a psychologist someday. If you were my patient, I would be so proud of your progress."

These words warmed Sienna's heart. It felt so good to have her efforts recognized. "I'm still a long way from being as confident as you."

"Pshaw, I'm an extrovert to the extreme. It's not wrong that I'm not good at socializing. Now we just need to find you a companion."

"What?"

"That's right. Having a few failed relationships will help you adapt to life better. You're in college now. Almost everyone thinks you need to have a few messy relationships, and once your heart has been broken a few times, other things will be less likely to bother you."

Sienna stared at Sam with undisguised horror. "This suggestion is terrible," she said.

Sam shrugged. "Hey, that's part of life."

“No, no, that’s not true at all,” Sienna said. “Don’t give my sisters that kind of advice. Can you imagine what a heartbroken Teddy would do? Maple would cry… Athena… would go to jail.”

"And Trinity's taste in men probably isn't very good either," Sam said with a chuckle.

Sienna didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't help but chuckle softly. "You're so mean," she said. While it was true, it sounded a bit harsh on Trinity.

"Sorry, sorry," Sam waved casually. "So, I guess you haven't set your sights on anyone special yet?"

Sienna shook her head vigorously. "I don't think I have the energy, even if I wanted to. Besides, I can't think of anyone particularly interesting right now."

"Hmm, that's true. What about that Fabian?" Sam made a stabbing motion as if he were holding a small sword.

"That guy with the fencing mask? No, he's too... uh. My henchmen aren't suitable either. I mean, some of them are quite good-looking, but they're... just henchmen."

Sam nodded. "A strange power dynamic. That makes sense."

Sienna hadn't thought much about this before, but Sam was right, more or less accurate. In her mind, her henchmen were first and foremost her henchmen. And they were all a bit nerdy, with an excessive fondness for things like masks.

“And you?” Sienna asked. This was an advanced social skill she had recently learned. “Asking a question to change the subject” was a small talk strategy that could steer the conversation in a different direction so she wouldn’t have to talk too much about herself.

Sam grinned, and Sienna worried she needed to work on her small talk skills. "Me? Well, I wish I had time to go on dates or something. You know, I've been swamped these past few weeks. There are a few cute guys and girls around, but I haven't had time to get to know them. And the dating scene is awful these days."

“Mmm,” Sienna agreed.

"You have no idea how bad it is, right?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sienna admitted honestly. But she still smiled. This... was fine. Her classes were over for the day, and she had a few minutes before heading to Miss Hudson's to pick up her sisters.

She didn't know if Aurora would get along well with the teacher. Probably. Her new sister seemed mature enough to take care of herself.

As usual, when the conversation became mundane, they both pulled out their phones from their bags and pockets, casually checking their social media feeds. Okay, Sam was looking. Sienna, on the other hand, was engrossed in a feed of adorable animal pictures that updated 24/7, something she could access whenever she wanted.

The best thing about her being so busy lately is that there are so many new memes she hadn't seen before.

She was about to turn her phone around to show Sam a video of two sleepy kittens, seemingly wanting to cuddle or fight, when she noticed Sam frowning. "Is...is everything alright?" Sienna asked.

“Oh no,” Sam said. “Sienna, have you told the Heroic Response Force (HRF) that you’re on the villains’ side?”

“No,” Sienna said, her heart sinking. “What’s wrong?”

Sam looked up from his phone. "A few friends at school said people from the Human Rights Foundation are nearby, and they're looking for you."