The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

“Hi, Mom,” Sienna answered the phone, a little embarrassed as she spoke. The cell phone signal had probably been cut off underground.

She'd heard that some stations and underground locations had signal repeaters installed, allowing cell phones to work even in those places, but she figured the E. Clair subway system probably never had any of those things installed.

"Sienna." Her mother's voice clearly showed relief. "Are you alright?"

Sienna glanced around. They were walking towards Sam's car, her sisters leading the way, while Trinity held tightly to Sienna's free hand. "We're fine, we were just about to go home. Hmm... I think a lot has happened."

"That's good, that's good. Have you eaten yet?"

Sienna couldn't help but laugh and replied, "Not yet."

"Then I'll buy some food and come to your dorm to find you, okay?"

“That’s great, Mom,” Sienna said. “Shall we talk more when we meet?”

After a long back-and-forth, Sienna finally convinced her mother to hang up the phone. There were a few awkward moments in between, such as Sienna having to tell her mother she loved her—while Sam was snickering nearby, making the situation even worse—but in the end, her mother finally hung up, and Sienna was able to put her phone away.

“Looks like we should go back to the dorm to get something to eat,” Sienna said. “And Sam, you’re welcome to come along too.”

Sam grinned and said, "So you know how to reward your men, huh? But don't forget, gas isn't cheap either. I don't have that much money to drive you guys around all day."

"Yes, I will pay you back as soon as possible, I promise."

Sam nudged Sienna with his shoulder, nearly tripping over thin air. "Hey, don't worry, boss."

Everyone squeezed into the car, but Sienna still had to tell Trinity that no matter how small she was, she couldn't let one of her clones sit on her lap.

Once everyone was seated comfortably, the bus headed towards the school and home.

"So what's the next step in your grand plan?" Sam asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

“I don’t know either,” Sienna said. “I think… I’m going to call Aleya Iakta and ask him how things are going.”

Then perhaps we could continue investigating Sement's organization? I'm not keen on taking that risk, but it feels like the only way we can make money quickly. I'll think about it some more; I need some time to think it over.”

“Alright,” Sam said, “but it’s best to strike while the iron is hot.”

“What does the ‘iron’ in this metaphor refer to?” Sienna asked. It was strange how quickly she’d gotten used to chatting with Sam. Perhaps being in a relatively authoritative position made conversations easier. She could think about that later.

Sam snorted and said, “I think here, ‘Iron’ refers to your reputation and influence. You… no, we are probably the coolest new hero in this city.”

“Oh, uh, that’s disgusting,” Athena said. “I know the boss made me do it, but it still feels really awkward.”

“Yeah,” Teddy chimed in. “Don’t talk about us like that outside, it’s so rude. We’re villains pretending to be heroes, and we’re pretty good at it.”

Sam rolled her eyes. Luckily, the light was red, so it didn't affect her driving much.

"You know what I mean. The media will definitely love you two. Those kids in the back are like... a PR treasure trove."

Sienna turned halfway to look at her sisters. She thought they might be kind of cute...maybe? Teddy and Athena were playing around, while Trinity was picking her nose and licking the inside of a chocolate wrapper she'd found somewhere.

Sienna reached out and snatched the wrapper from Trinity's hand, then stuffed it into one of the cup holders in front of her. "I think they're kind of cute."

"Come on, they're perfect for marketing," Sam said. "I'm just kidding, you can make a lot of money using kids."

Sienna blinked and said, "This doesn't sound like...good, does it?"

“Yeah, I don’t like that idea,” Teddy said. “That sounds too capitalist, you little rascal.”

Sam raised his hands in surrender and said, "Okay, okay." Then the conversation shifted to other things, mostly about school.

This reminded Sienna that she needed to find a way to get her sisters educated. The talk about exploiting children felt too real to her, and it made her uneasy.

The car drove into the parking lot, found a parking space on the lower level, and then everyone got out of the car. The girls pushed and shoved each other, vying to be the first to get out.

They filed out of the parking lot and headed towards their dormitories. Sienna couldn't help but notice that many people stopped and stared at them. Her sisters were too young and seemed out of place on campus.

This will be a problem sooner or later, especially once they gain some fame. Anyone who sees the eldest sister and her five hero companions, and then sees Sienna and her five sisters, will surely guess what's going on.

Sienna opened the door for everyone, and once she was finally back in her room, she felt some of the pressure dissipate. "Finally home," she muttered to herself.

“Yay!” Teddy chimed in. “I miss my bed.”

“That’s not your bed,” Athena said. “That’s the boss’s bed.”

"Hmph, she doesn't need it now." Teddy said, starting to climb onto the bed.

“Hey, hey,” Sienna said hastily, “go wash your hands first. Please, we’re all covered in dust, we don’t want to get the bed dirty, please.”

She shooed her sisters into the bathroom and then started rummaging through her clothes, trying to find something for them to change into.

Looks like I'll have to go to the secondhand store again soon.

"Wow, being a villain and a single mom is pretty complicated, isn't it?" Sam said after returning from his room.

“That’s right,” Sienna muttered softly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice calling Sienna's name. Sienna quickly ran to the door.

Mom stood outside the door, carrying several cheap plastic bags in her hands. She smelled pleasant, a mix of fried food and spices. "Honey," Mom said, raising her arm slightly, "I brought lunch."

“You’ll be very popular here,” Sienna said as she ushered her mother in.

"Second sister!" the sisters cheered immediately, then swarmed around their mother. When their mother placed the box of Thai food on Sienna's table, the sisters looked at her as if she were a goddess.

However, at Mom's command, with a snap, the younger sisters obediently ran to wash their hands, each one becoming like the most well-behaved little angels.

“Your mom is pretty good,” Sam said quietly, watching Sienna’s mother divide each dish into paper plates while reminding the girls to be careful while eating.

“I’m very capable.” Sienna’s mother nodded, smiled knowingly, and then asked, “Who are you, dear?”

Sam smiled and replied, "I am Sam, madam, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Sienna's neighbor across the hall, and I suppose I'm one of her men."

“Oh, my little Sienna has made a friend, that’s wonderful.”

“Mom,” Sienna said, trying not to embarrass herself.

“Just call me Claire, Sam. I’m glad Sienna has made friends around her age. But I’m a little skeptical about whether your easy involvement in these heroic matters is a good influence.”

“Don’t worry, madam, we’re all safe so far,” Sam lied.

Sienna's mother glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I do read the news, you know. I saw that you girls stopped that villain yesterday, what was his name again, Chain Man?"

“That was a bit of an accident,” Sienna said.

"Of course! Did you hear about the bank robbery this morning? Some young guy who wanted to be a villain robbed the whole bank, making several thousand dollars. By the time the heroes arrived, he was long gone."

"It's normal for this kind of thing to happen quickly after Superpower Day, but in Auclair, there's never been so much villain activity all at once before."

“I haven’t heard about that, no,” Sienna said. She moved over to the food and started getting herself something to eat. The room wasn’t big, so eating and chatting wouldn’t take much longer. Besides, she was starving. “Is anyone injured?”

“I don’t think so,” Claire said. “It was a very clean and efficient robbery. But that also means the heroes will be on high alert for the next few weeks before they catch the villain.”

"O'Claire has never seen so many villains appear all at once before."

“This…is actually quite worrying,” Sienna said.

Will she encounter rivals? But she shouldn't worry about that. The more villains there are, the more opportunities she has to play the hero. That should be a good thing.

At least, that's what she was thinking as she fiddled with her chopsticks and looked at a plate of rice noodles.