The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

"What kind of job is it?" Sienna asked.

Before she could even speak, she regretted asking the question. However, she felt there was no harm in asking.

Handshaw replied with a hint of amusement in his voice, “It’s nothing too complicated. I’m going to see someone whose name starts with 'C.' You dealt with one of his accomplices, right?”

He said "cement," Sienna thought, pressing the phone closer to her head. "Okay? So what do you want me to... do?"

"I want to see him alone. Let me put it this way, I'm not very confident about this."

I think you can guess why. You know, I still walk with a slight limp.

“I’m not capable of handling this,” Sienna said. “Neither are my sisters.”

“Sisters, or plural?” Handshaw asked.

Sienna felt her lips tighten into a thin line. "I misspoke."

Handshaw snorted. "Of course. Would you like to come along?"

Sienna shook her head, though the other person couldn't see it. "Not interested. It's too dangerous, and you haven't offered any good terms."

What if I told you that this meeting involves something you care about very much?

Sienna's heart clenched, and for a moment, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Did the "cement" copy the hard drive?

Did someone fish the hard drive out of the river and then hand it to him?

"What?" she asked.

Handshaw cleared his throat. "It's about a cabal."

Sienna blinked. "About—you mean 'Cement' also wants to know about them?"

"That's not all. He knows things I don't, and I also know things he doesn't."

This is a deal, and also an excuse for us to reconcile, or at least put aside our...hostile relationship.

Sienna paced back and forth by the window, deep in thought. Could this be more dangerous than her last adventure?

The obvious and immediately apparent answer is yes.

Going out with the heroes is risky; if they discover her identity, she will either be arrested or face even more serious consequences.

Going out to confront a villain, a truly terrifying villain? That would be much worse.

“I don’t want to go,” Sienna said.

“I can add some chips, and I also want to know what you know about them.”

And I can give you something else, money or intelligence.

But let me warn you, there won't be many. The information you have probably isn't worth much to me either.

Sienna swallowed hard. "I'll consider it."

"My meeting with him is scheduled for tomorrow night. Think it over carefully before then."

I'll give a thousand dollars to every superpowered helper who comes along. And I'll tell you everything I know about the Secret Society.

If you can avoid saying this name, it's best not to. It's quite distinctive, and it would be too conspicuous to mention it in ordinary conversation.

“I know, we’ve always called them the ‘Clown Gang’.”

"Ha! That's a clever way to address you. Anyway, I'll text you the address of the meeting place. It's up to you whether you come or not."

After I finished speaking, a cheerful notification tone came from the other end of the phone, and then the call ended.

Sienna really wanted to throw the phone, but she held back. She wasn't the type to resort to violence.

"Do you need help?"

Sienna was startled. She looked up and found herself staring wide-eyed at Sam.

"Hey—uh, maybe we don't need to?"

Sam tilted his head to one side. "Are you sure? You don't look too good."

“I’m fine,” Sienna said. “I just made a… pretty difficult phone call.”

"Is it related to the people in your house?"

This was the second time in such a short time, and Sienna suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. "What?"

Sam rolled his eyes and pointed behind him with his thumb. "I'm not deaf or blind. You have two kids living in your house."

Sienna licked her dry lips. "They are my sisters."

The girl nodded. "Okay, fine. Is it because of them that you're in trouble? I used to be a nanny, and sometimes it was a nightmare."

"No—that's not it. My sisters... actually, they're quite nice."

Sometimes, well, he can be a little mischievous, but most of the time he's fine.

"Okay, that's good. If it's not because of that, then what is it?"

Sam crossed her arms. She didn't seem to be planning to leave.

"Yes... oh. Is there anywhere I can go? A relatively secluded place?"

"What kind of person is he?"

"A boy?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, you know, they don't really care if you bring a guy home—oh, your sisters are here."

Yes, with kids in the house, you definitely wouldn't want to do anything intimate with your boyfriend.

“What?” Sienna asked.

She then realized what she meant, and her face flushed red. "No, no, that's not how it is at all. We're not, we don't have that kind of relationship."

"Hey, it's okay. Where do you think half of those strange noises in this place are coming from?"

Sam lowered his arm and moved a little closer. "There are a few places, you know, that are suitable for people looking for some excitement."

I heard that rooftops are quite popular, especially for doing "that kind of thing."

Sienna shook her head.

Her ears were still burning. "I swear, it's not what you think."

Sam smiled. "Alright. So what are you looking for?"

"It's a place where a friend can stay overnight."

Sienna looked down at her shoes, paused for a moment, and then said...

“Hmm,” Sam responded, his tone laced with skepticism and a hint of teasing, “Well, a place to put a friend.”

There's a motel not far from here, that should be fine. But if your friend wants to save money, the library would also be an option.

There are study rooms there, open all night. Although they have glass walls, there's not much space to do anything outrageous.

But you can rent a room for twelve dollars, and if you fall asleep while reading, the librarian won't bother you.

This... was much better than Sienna had expected. "Thank you."

“Hey, you’re welcome, darling,” Sam said. She winked at Sienna and then headed toward her room.

"Just knock on my door if you need anything. But if you want me to babysit or anything like that, it won't be cheap, you know?"

“Thank you,” Sienna repeated.

Sam waved her hand and went into her room, the door clicking shut behind her.

Sienna took a deep breath and walked towards her room. She swiped her card, and the door opened.

She went into the house and saw Jacob pacing back and forth inside, while Athena glared at him from behind.

“I, um, found you a place to stay for the night,” Sienna said. “I mean, where you’ll stay tonight.”

"Really?" he asked. "Is it safe?"

"It's... pretty safe, isn't it?"

He frowned. "I don't even know if this is safe enough for me, you know?"

Sienna nodded. "I understand. But you can't sleep here."

The young man scratched the back of his head. "Okay, yeah. That's a bit... alright. Where is it?"

"The library. You can rent a study room there, and they won't mind if you fall asleep there."

As long as you pretend to be learning something, that's fine. Or you could actually learn something, I think that would be good too.

"So what about our 'Clown Gang' problem? How do you plan to handle it?"

“Big sister Sienna doesn’t need to concern herself with this, kid. This isn’t her problem, it’s your problem.”

“Athena,” Sienna said.

However, she couldn't blame the girl, because she herself felt roughly the same way. "I'm going to... meet someone tomorrow."

We might find out more then, maybe.

"That's not enough."

Sienna glared at her. "That's all we can do." She cleared her throat, suppressing her anger.

She wasn't the type to get angry easily. "I'm sorry, but I really don't want you to stay here."

“You heard what your sister said,” Athena said. She pointed to the door. “Get out of here, boy.”

Jacob snorted, and Sienna guessed he was half annoyed and half amused.

"Okay, okay. I'll go to the library for a nap. Maybe I can actually do some homework there."

God knows how much I've fallen behind. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I'll catch up as soon as I find your number.

“Okay,” Sienna agreed. She saw Jacob to the door, and after the door closed and he was gone, she leaned her head against the wall and took a moment to catch her breath.

"This matter... has really been quite a hassle."

“You’re amazing,” Athena said, without a trace of sarcasm in her tone. This made Sienna feel somewhat better.

"We need to prepare... for tomorrow."

Athena sat up straight. "What are you preparing?"

“Deal with trouble. Be prepared to deal with a whole lot of trouble.” Sienna walked to the bedside, sat on the edge of the bed, and tried not to disturb Teddy too much.

She didn't want to move Teddy onto the mattress; the bear was heavy, especially when he was asleep and didn't move at all, like now.

Athena grinned, revealing a set of teeth, and looked somewhat fierce.

Then she adjusted her glasses with both hands, and instantly her fierce look disappeared.

"I'm usually prepared. Are we going to put on special costumes and go out and do something big?"

"That's not entirely true, and you don't have any special clothing either."

“I have a really cool jacket,” Athena said. “And I have a few pairs of pants too. All we need is a mask.”

Sienna gently patted Athena's hair, a very warm and relaxing gesture.

You can tell from the way Athena slightly closed her eyes that this action made both of them quite comfortable.

"Alright. It's never a bad thing to have more help. Also... do you have any points you can use?"

"Not yet," she said.

"It's okay. I'll use the points I have. Teddy can do the same."

We should prepare as much as possible. Perhaps things will go smoothly.

Sienna continued to run her fingers through Athena's hair until she was almost convinced of the lie, then she stood up.

"Okay, go change your clothes. It's time for bed."

"Owls are nocturnal animals."

"And the sisters are diurnal. Go get your pajamas. While you change, I'll move this bear onto the bed."

Sienna sighed. "I think we need to get some sleep."