The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna walked quite fast, and her sisters—or rather, her summoned companions—brisked their pace to keep up, occasionally having to jog a few steps to catch up with her.

She knew in her heart that she needed to slow down; rushing like this wasn't a good idea.

But another voice inside her didn't care about this.

Since Superpower Day came and went, Sienna has been completely bewildered by all sorts of new situations.

New situations kept arising, and there were several near-fatal encounters... perhaps not life-threatening, but definitely terrible.

Not to mention that she suddenly found herself in a situation similar to that of a single mother.

She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

"Boss, are you alright?" Teddy asked.

“I’m fine, Teddy,” she lied. “It’s just that all of this has been so exhausting, you know?”

“It’s okay,” Teddy said. “I’m here to help you, and so is Athena.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, sister,” Athena added. “If anything bothers you, I’ll handle it. Teddy can just stand by and watch, and while I’m dealing with things, she just needs to pretend to be smart.”

Teddy suddenly turned his head and glared at Athena, who glared back without backing down, looking as smug as an owl that had caught a mouse.

“Thank you, girls,” Sienna said.

She really needs to refocus. What would happen if Aleya Ekta got into trouble?

Over the years, her parents have taken her to see several psychologists, mainly to help her alleviate her anxiety. But she has never spent an extended period of time with any of them.

She was incredibly nervous every time she went to the doctor. It wasn't until later that she realized how ironic it all was.

However, she still uses some of the tips and tricks that some doctors taught her.

One approach is to consider the worst-case scenario.

What would happen if Aleya Ekta—that is, Isabella—were captured?

She might snitch and tell the heroes she's the villain. That would be terrible.

If she dies... that would be terrible too.

Sienna herself is safe, but she'll lose an ally. And besides, her death is never a good thing. Sienna may not like her much, but she doesn't want her to die either.

Was there any other possibility? She couldn't imagine anything worse than the heroes and the "conspiracy" discovering her and her sisters' identities.

So she had to stop it from happening.

If she gets there and finds a whole squad of heroes there, what can she do? Aside from perhaps delaying them a little, Sienna can't think of any other way.

Even if it's just procrastination, it's unlikely to be done.

If everything goes into the worst possible situation, then Sienna will be powerless to help. This... is not reassuring at all.

Perhaps it was the right decision not to see that therapist in the first place.

She swallowed hard and continued on her way. The closer she got to the campus, the more people there were on the street, and more and more people stopped to look in their direction.

Some people seemed to be trying to get closer to them, but she suspected that Athena was up to something, since the startled expressions on their faces suggested something.

Sienna bit her lip. She couldn't directly stop the heroes.

Perhaps she doesn't need to stop them directly.

If there's one thing that defines Aleya Ekta, it's that she's cunning and lucky.

“I have a plan,” she said.

The two girls looked up at her, their eyes full of innocent curiosity.

"Once we get there, we'll have to stall those heroes. They think we're on their side."

Therefore, we need to ask more questions, try to lead them in the wrong direction, and do our best to buy time so that Aleya Ekta has a chance to escape.

“We can beat them up, then she’ll have plenty of time to run away,” Teddy said.

Sienna shook her head. "No. Don't use your hands unless there's absolutely no other way. In fact, you're not allowed to hit anyone without my explicit instructions, understand?"

Teddy nodded. "Understood, boss."

“I think I can use my abilities to confuse them a bit,” Athena said. “When I want to keep a low profile, I can be very discreet.”

“That should work,” Sienna said.

Just then, her phone rang. As she hurried along, she had to struggle to reach it from the pocket of her tight costume pants, and even had to jump a few times to get it.

She shoved the phone to her ear and heard Isabella breathing heavily. "Where are you?" she hissed in a low voice.

“I’m almost at campus. Where are you?” Sienna asked.

"You know that 'sleep-in' gas station, right? The one with the little convenience store, the one with the cute red-haired girl at the counter."

I'm right behind her. Hurry up! I'm running out of energy, and this woman just won't give up.

Sienna quickened her pace slightly. She roughly knew where she was referring to. "Who is it?"

“I don’t know!” Jacob said. “Oh no. I have to hang up. Listen, there’s an old factory area about two blocks away. I’ll go there. It’s quiet and not crowded. Hurry up!”

Sienna stuffed her phone into her jacket pocket and then reached down. Her two companions took her hands without her asking.

People in front of them quickly made way for them. She thought this was normal; seeing a superhero run past meant there was trouble ahead.

They arrived at the gas station Aleya Ekta had mentioned. Sienna slowed down at the edge of the parking lot, switched to jogging, then stopped, panting, and let go of her sisters' hands, leaning on her knees as she looked around.

There was no sign of the hero here, nor could Aleia be seen.

But that doesn't mean anything.

“I think it’s in that direction,” Sienna said, pointing.

They walked around the side of the gas station and through the alley behind it. The alley was littered with trash, and several bags of garbage were piled up next to the trash cans, as if they had been ripped open.

The ground was covered with tiny, flickering sparks. Most of them emitted a wisp of smoke and gradually went out, while some were still burning brightly.

“It looks really good,” Teddy said.

“Someone used superpowers to leave this behind,” Sienna said. “That must be it, or someone must have set off fireworks in the alley before they arrived.”

“This makes it easier for us to track them.” She pointed to the end of the alley, in the direction where Mars turned left.

Sienna had to admit she was right. “Let’s go,” she said.

They rushed out from behind the alley and crossed a narrow street next to an old red-brick building. It was a factory or something, and it looked as old as the city itself.

There were still some sparks on one side of the factory building, so they quickly ran towards that direction. Rounding the corner, they found themselves on another old, narrow road, nestled between two rows of old buildings.

Some of the factory buildings are still in use, but the factories have already closed for the day.

Nevertheless, some newer cars were parked around, and through some frosty fences, forklifts and semi-trailers could be seen parked next to piles of timber and containers.

“There!” Teddy said, pointing to one side.

A glance over there reveals a building, far more dilapidated than the others. The heavy wooden door is chained shut, but there's a broken window surrounded by sharp shards of glass.

There were flashing lights inside, like sparklers burning, but there was no sound.

"Good eye," Sienna said, running over. There was a milk crate under one of the windows, and it looked like more glass had been broken to make it easier to climb in.

“Teddy, would you like to go in first?” Sienna asked.

“Give me a push!” Teddy said.

Sienna stood on the box, then snorted and lifted Teddy over the window frame, carefully preventing her from touching the glass.

Next up was Athena, with Teddy trying his best to help, though he ended up making things worse.

Sienna finally jumped in, landing on the dusty hardwood floors, and looked around. The factory had a low ceiling with wooden beams running through it, and smelled of mold and mothballs.

Several heavy brackets were mounted on the walls and floor, suggesting where the equipment used to be, but apart from that, the place was empty except for some abandoned boxes.

"Come back here, you bastard!" someone screamed. It was a woman, her voice high-pitched and filled with anger.

Sienna looked at her sisters.

“I think we should go that way,” Teddy said.

“I think so too,” Sienna agreed.

They didn't run. After all, the ground was uneven, and the lighting was poor.

However, they quickly made their way through the main floor and arrived at a loading and unloading platform, from which they could see the floors above.

There used to be an elevator-like device, but it's gone now, leaving only an opening through which you can see the two floors above.

Sparks flashed overhead as it sped forward silently.

“Let’s take the stairs,” Athena said. She grabbed Sienna and Teddy and pulled them forward. “My eyesight is good, don’t worry.”

When they reached the top floor, they found a familiar pair of figures arguing with each other.

Aleya Ekta hid behind a pillar, using boxes as cover, and always managed to dodge the flying sparks by teleporting the moment her attackers looked away.

In the center of the room stood "Glamour Woman," a woman clad in spandex bodysuit, her face clearly contorted with rage, surrounded by a storm of sparks and shimmering light.

“Okay,” Sienna said softly.

Now all she needs to do is get Aleia out of the factory and subdue the enraged superhero.

That makes things much simpler.