The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

"So, there's only one other subordinate, right?" Sam asked.

“Yes, strictly speaking, that’s true,” Sienna replied.

"And he has superpowers?"

Sienna nodded. "It's some kind of strange ability to manipulate luck. It's a bit complicated."

"He works for you?"

"Well, he owes me a favor, I guess. And I think he might be a little afraid of me."

Teddy chimed in at this point, "The boss is terrifying."

“Okay, okay, cool,” Sam said. She flicked her thumb behind her. “This way.”

Sienna glanced at her sisters, then made sure they were all behind her before catching up with Sam.

The girl had even longer legs, and she didn't seem to pay much attention to her stride when she walked.

“I know you need to use my car,” Sam said as he started walking down into the parking lot, “but you haven’t told me where you’re going yet.”

Sienna frowned. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just... I don't know how to say this. I think it would be fair if I told you a little bit."

“That would be great, but we can talk about it when I can take proper notes,” Sam said.

“Notes?” Sienna repeated.

"It's for my thesis."

Sienna simply shook her head. "Okay. Well, we're going to a few places. None of them are too far from here. Is that alright?"

“I think it’s okay. Is there anything interesting?” Sam asked, reaching into his bag and pulling out a bunch of keys.

“Nothing interesting, nothing,” Sienna said. She looked at a car; its lights flashed and the door unlocked.

It was a dark gray car, and it looked... no different from the other cars on the road.

Sienna didn't know much about cars, but even she could tell that it was probably the most ordinary and unremarkable kind of car, about six or seven years old. There was a small bulge on one side of the rear bumper with a college sticker hastily pasted on it.

“This is my car,” Sam said. “Well, we might have to move some things to make room. Are all the kids coming along?”

Sienna looked into the car. There were three seats in the back and two seats in the front.

She didn't even need to count to know there would be two fewer seats. "I think the girls can squeeze in and sit in the back row."

“You can leave two of me at home,” Trinity said. “I can go home, and if you need me, I can take a bath with Mr. Toaster.”

“I… don’t want it to come to that, but leaving you at home to look after things isn’t a bad idea. It’s just a bit late to talk about this now.”

"What did she mean by taking a shower with the toaster?" Sam asked with a worried look.

Sienna thought for a long time about how to explain this, which gave Trinity enough time to answer.

“A few days ago I took a bath with Mr. Toaster, and then there was a loud crackling sound, and one of my bodies died,” Trinity said.

Seeing Sam's confused look, she continued to explain, "It's okay if I die, I can be resurrected."

Because although I am one person, I have several bodies, so the death of one doesn't matter to me; I will simply reappear beside myself.

“Wow,” Sam said, “Hey Trinity, can I interview you later? I can give you some chocolate or something.”

“Really?” Sienna asked.

“Listen, at first I was just thinking about getting good grades and maybe publishing articles in a few interesting psychology journals, but now this feels like it’s almost at the level of the Nobel Prize.”

“There’s no Nobel Prize in psychology,” Sienna said.

Sam shrugged. "Then something like the Nobel Prize, I guess."

Sienna thought Sam might not be quite right in the head, although she had noticed some clues before. "Alright, everyone get in the car and sit in the back. Trinity, you're the youngest, so you can sit in the middle or on the side."

“We’ll probably have to use child safety seats,” Sam said.

“I don’t know what that is, and I’m not going to sit on it,” Teddy said.

“That’s a chair for babies, to prevent them from hurting themselves,” Athena said. “You definitely need to sit in that one.”

“Girls,” Sienna said.

She opened the back door and gestured for everyone to get in.

The sisters rushed into the car, and she closed the door. After Sam cleared some space in the passenger seat, she got in herself.

The car smelled of energy drinks, coffee, and air freshener.

Sienna placed her bag on her lap so she could easily reach the notebook inside. "Does your car have GPS?" Sienna asked.

"Yes, but I'm a local, I know this city very well."

"Oh, that's useful. My home is nearby. Anyway, that's the first address I need to go to."

She tilted the notebook towards Sam and pointed to the address written on it.

Sam glanced at the address, then blinked. "Azip's Pizza?"

“Do you know where that place is?” Sienna asked.

Sam smiled and nodded. "Of course I know, I've been ordering pizza from there since I was a kid. They have an upside-down pizza, it's delicious. You have to try it."

"Uh, then I'll believe you."

"We're not...going to rob them, are we?" Sam asked.

Sienna shook her head. "No, we don't do that kind of thing. That shop used to pay protection money to another villain. That villain's name is 'Cement'."

"Is it the guy who got arrested?" Sam asked. She put the car in reverse and quickly drove out of the parking lot.

“It’s him, no doubt about it,” Sienna said. “He’s fought a few heroes, but I don’t think those really count as heroes. There’s so much more to this… I don’t even know how much I should reveal.”

"Oh, there's a conspiracy," Sam chuckled.

Sienna shook her head. "It's not like that. It's... I think I'll tell you when I have more time, probably when we have more free time."

"Alright alright."

While waiting at a red light, she tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel. "You still haven't told me what we're going to do at Azip Pizza."

Are we going to take over that place? To extort money? Or to collect protection money?

“No, quite the opposite. We’re going to, uh, liberate them,” Sienna said, still harboring many doubts about the whole thing.

Things could very well turn out very badly, but at the same time, she didn't see many other options.

Moreover, there is a pressure to continue pushing forward.

It's like a strange balancing act. More time to consider would be ideal, but that might mean less time to act and more missed opportunities.

They drove off the roads around the university, and Sam began navigating the city with the confidence of someone who knew the area like the back of her hand, which meant she would pull into the parking lot of a gas station.

Then it drives out from the back onto quieter streets, passing through alleys, and heads straight for the pizzeria.

"Are we only going to this one place?" Sam asked.

“No,” Sienna said, “we have more than a dozen places to check. But it depends on how long each place takes.”

"So your plan is to walk in and say, 'Hey, you're free,' and then leave it to fate?" Sam asked.

Sienna felt her face getting a little hot. "Uh, maybe?"

“Wow,” Sam said, “you haven’t thought this through at all, have you?”

“I don’t have much time to think things through,” Sienna said. “And there’s no villain’s action guide or anything like that.”

“I mean, there’s no such thing as a villain, but there are hundreds of books, movies, and TV shows that demonstrate how the villain system works,” Sam said.

“I don’t think any of those accurately reflect the reality,” Sienna said. “Besides, I, well, I’ve never really liked superhero fiction. I’ve always thought it was pretty silly.”

Sam just glanced at her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a little strange?"

Sienna shrank further into her seat. "I think so."

“Hey, boss, don’t blame her. She’s great,” Teddy said. “She’s been working hard to become a more formidable villain. She used to be so shy, but now she’s terrifying.”

Sienna turned to look at Teddy. She wanted to argue with the little girl, but... but what Teddy said might not be entirely wrong.

Her fear of interacting with people did indeed subside somewhat.

It hasn't completely subsided... or perhaps it hasn't subsided at all.

In fact, that feeling is definitely still there, but it's now overshadowed by other, bigger worries.

None of the psychologists she had consulted before had ever suggested that keeping herself busy would help her overcome her shyness.

“I’m trying to change things,” Sienna said, “but, uh, do you have a better idea?”

"About collecting protection money? Yes, of course." She parked the car on the side of the road, looked around, then put it in neutral and pulled the handbrake.

They stopped right behind the entrance to a small alley, in front of a closed restaurant located in the city's old neighborhood.

“I’m telling you, I’ll go in with you, just like a proper subordinate should do, and then we’ll get this sorted out together.”

“Uh,” Sienna said.

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to bully people and get them to give me things,” Sam said. “But bullying is really disliked, you know? Now I can finally do it!”

“Wait, what?” Sienna asked.

But it was too late; Sam had already gotten out of the car, and her little sisters rushed out from the back seat.

Sienna inwardly groaned. What trouble had she gotten herself into?