The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Athena struggled to support her sister's entire weight, letting out a soft groan. Although Teddy was about the same height as Athena—or even slightly shorter—she was really heavy.

This might be related to her protruding belly, which made the bear pattern on her hoodie look almost three-dimensional. "You've gained weight," Athena said bluntly.

Teddy turned his head and glanced at her expressionlessly. "No, you're the one who's gotten fat."

“I don’t,” Athena said, patting her flat stomach. “See, no fat.” She reached out and poked Teddy’s belly. “You’ve got all the food you’ve eaten.”

"Stop poking, it's not time to expel it yet."

Athena heard Sienna sigh behind them, so she turned her head and looked up at the taller Sienna.

"Please... just... watch what you're saying, okay?" Sienna said.

"I meant I needed to use the restroom later," Teddy said.

"Yes, I know, we all know."

"Yeah, that's right, everyone needs to go to the toilet," Teddy said dismissively.

Athena nudged Teddy again. "Big sister wants you to stop talking about going to the toilet," she reminded him.

Teddy shifted his position. "Oh, then she could have just told me directly."

Sienna walked past them, went to the dormitory door, and opened it. "Alright, come in."

Athena helped pull Teddy to the edge of the mattress and then stopped beside him. "Should I leave you here?" she asked.

"Yeah, I need to take a nap to recover," Teddy said.

“Oh no,” Sienna said as she closed the door, “take a quick shower before you go to sleep.”

Teddy muttered a complaint, "But I... just took a bath not long ago."

Athena narrowed her eyes. "How long ago was 'not long ago'?"

“Probably yesterday?” Teddy stared at her. “You’ve never taken a bath in your life, have you? You’re probably covered in all that sticky stuff from when you were summoned.”

"I didn't!"

Sienna coughed, interrupting their argument before it could truly begin. "You both need to take a shower. Hurry up and find some clothes or something."

Put the dirty clothes in that box over there, and then...and then we'll look for a laundromat again tomorrow. Thank goodness, it's Saturday.

What followed was a flurry of activity as they searched for clean clothes. Teddy walked unsteadily, while Athena was the fastest, so she rushed into the bathroom first.

After she finished washing up and let Teddy in, she found Sienna sitting at her desk, looking at her laptop.

"Big sister, what are you looking for?" Athena asked.

"Oh? Ah, I'm looking at some information about the new heroes," Sienna said.

The screen displayed a flashy website with several photos of people dressed in outlandish costumes. Most of these costumes were brightly colored and looked very high-tech.

“Alright,” Athena said, “does this have anything to do with your conversation with Meraton?”

Sienna nodded, then paused. "Um, do you know who Meraton is?"

"Is that the woman who invited us to dinner and tried to get you drunk?" Athena asked.

Thankfully, the eldest sister didn't drink that drink, otherwise Athena might have done something rude to that Meradun.

"She's a hero, a real hero, and she belongs to a company. Her name is Meraton, and she can put people to sleep."

Athena shrank back. "A hero? Why should we deal with someone like that?"

"Yes, because she helped us deal with Homi."

"Does she know we're the villains?" Athena asked, emphasizing the word "villains" to give it due weight.

Sienna quickly shook her head. "No, no, she doesn't know. She thinks we're heroes too, or to put it worse, the gray area kind."

Athena understood. Her older sister was truly clever; just as she had predicted, she was subtly approaching the heroes, and then, without a doubt...

She would set a trap and wipe them all out in a frenzy of violence and destruction. Athena only hoped that she would become powerful enough to help by then.

“Then I understand what you’re doing,” Athena said. “That’s amazing.”

"Thank you?" Sienna said. "Before we meet them, I'll take a look at the information on these new heroes. I think getting closer to them might reduce some of the suspicion others have about us."

Athena agreed. "Of course."

"Well, I... I don't know if you'll be able to be there? They don't know you, and you're not dressed up, so you'll stand out."

Ah, so the older sister didn't want her to stand out too much. "Given my abilities, this might indeed be better. Teddy is better able to handle those kinds of situations."

Sienna nodded. "Okay, that's good."

So when Athena went to this... event, she didn't wear that outfit and helped in her own way.

Her sister is a truly first-rate strategist.

Athena adjusted her glasses, causing the lenses to flash, and then suppressed an urge to burst into laughter.

Teddy stumbled out of the bathroom, soaking wet and disheveled, and then collapsed onto the mattress. "I'm going to sleep now," she said.

“Oh, okay?” Sienna replied. “I’m going to take a shower now. Goodnight… if you’re asleep.”

"Okay! Goodnight," Teddy said.

"Mmm," Athena echoed, walking over to the mattress and lying down. She took off her glasses and carefully placed them under the bedside table to prevent anyone from stepping on them.

Sleeping in the same bed with a Teddy is not a good thing—Teddy moves around a lot while sleeping and snores.

Moreover, she liked to rub against Athena and drool, getting Athena all over herself—but it wasn't too bad.

Once they have occupied a significant portion of the country, they will be able to afford a large underground bunker.

Or perhaps a secret base, or a Gothic mansion on a mountain, where Athena would have a bedroom entirely of her own, filled with bookshelves and the like.

"What are you thinking about?" Teddy asked.

Athena turned around and could see Teddy's face.

Teddy had his eyes closed, but he was clearly not asleep yet. "I'm thinking about the future, when my older sister becomes the big villain."

“Oh, that’s pretty cool. But she doesn’t just want to be a regular villain,” Teddy said. “I think she wants to be a supervillain or something.”

Athena's eyes widened. "Wow!"

Her older sister has really ambitious goals.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Teddy confirmed.

Do you think...do you think she'll need our help?

Teddy snorted. "Of course. She can't turn into a bear herself, and... well, she can't make anyone else feel nervous or uneasy."

“My abilities are not limited to that,” Athena said.

“Of course,” Teddy said.

Athena poked her stomach, eliciting a grumble from her. "Don't be so mean, that's against the rules."

Teddy stuck out his tongue, but when he saw Athena raise her hand to poke her again, he quickly pulled back. "Okay, okay, I understand."

What I'm trying to say is, we need to get stronger to help the boss. I need to become, say, a bigger bear, and you need to become scarier.

“Even more frightening…” Athena said.

She wondered if she could do it.

Is she scary now?

She probably wasn't scary. She was a tall, thin girl with large glasses and almost white hair.

These things don't sound scary at all. She couldn't even put on a disappointed look like her older sister, which was the scariest look she'd ever seen.

She could certainly rely on her own abilities, but it didn't feel like enough. Or rather, it was more like a form of dependence.

No, Athena needs to make herself even scarier.

Alternatively, she could work on her overall image.

She imagined herself striking a super cool pose, while everyone around her was engulfed in a nightmare.

“Mm,” she said.

Sienna emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head, yawned, and then shuffled to the bedside. "Goodnight, Teddy."

“Goodnight, boss,” Teddy said.

Goodnight, Athena.

Athena looked up and smiled at her older sister. She was determined to make her sister proud. "Goodnight, sister."