Chapter Fifteen - Maddening Skills

Going to class was always such a weird experience. For a couple of hours she was nobody, just Emily Wright, the quiet girl sitting to the side and near the front (historically, where the teacher was the least likely to notice her and ask a spontaneous question).

The transition from the Boss, fledgling villain mastermind to a nobody was hard. A boy had accidentally bumped into her when she entered the lecture hall and she had glared at him. He even backed up and apologised.

She’d spent the next ten minutes going over the event in her head over and over again, which was actually pretty normal for when she messed something up. It was just so unlike her.

Class ended before she’d really come to grips with what had happened. She made sure not to bump into anyone on the way out, and even made doubly sure to avoid the boy who’d bumped into her.

Was her power changing her? Was it just the situations she was in that were encouraging her to be more confident? After all, she’d never been in mask fights until recently. She never had personal power before either.

Was it a bad change?

She refocused on what she’d learned during the lecture and tried to keep her mind on task while she returned to her dorm. It was hard, but not impossible. She did intend to get good grades, villain or no.

Maybe if her grades slipped one of her sisters could sneak into the professor’s office and...

Emily slapped a hand over her mouth.

Was she thinking of cheating?

No, no, there was nothing wrong with that. She’d thought of doing all sorts of bad things before. A bad thought didn’t mean that she was a bad person, as long as she never acted on her less-kind thoughts.

She arrived at her dorm and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. Things were relatively quiet out in the corridor. Sam’s room was closed up, but she knew that the girl had a pair of lectures to attend in the early evening, so it was unlikely they’d see each other again until the next day.

She knocked twice, heard the shuffle of a few brats on the other side, including a hushed conversation which ended in a loud “shut up!” Shaking her head, she unlocked the door and slipped in.

Athena was on the floor, both hands over two of Trinity’s mouths while a third Trinity was clinging onto her back.

Teddy was on the bed, sleeping with her back curved way out because she’d seemingly been too lazy to sleep under the covers instead of in them.

“Hey girls,” Emily said. “Athena, Trinity, stop whatever that is. And no, I don’t know who started it or whose fault it is, I just want it to stop.”

There was a chorus of “Yes Boss,” and “Okay Big Sis.” Then Teddy joined in with a particularly loud snort.

“Alright,” Emily said. She set her school bag down next to her desk, then flopped onto her seat. She was burnt right out.

“What’s the plan for today?” Athena asked.

“We took down a villain and started a protection racket,” Emily said. “I think I’ve done enough for one day.”

Athena nodded. “Yeah, we did good progress. I even got a new skill.”

“Have you used the point yet?” Emily asked.

Athena shook her head. “I was waiting for you to be here.”

Sitting up, Emily considered it for a moment. Having the points and not spending them wasn’t going to ever help. “Well, we might as well get to that right away. You might get a skill that you’ll need to practise with.”

“Alright!” Trinity cheered. “I’m going to be even more powerfuller!”

Emily scooted back in her seat, then folded her legs up under her after slipping her shoes off. “Alright, who wants to go first?”

“I should,” Athena said. “I’m the one who’s oldest with the fewest powers. I need them more.”

Trinity shrugged. She looked eager, but the racoon girl could, on occasion, be surprisingly patient. “Alright,” Emily said. “Trinity ,want to wake Teddy up? Carefully. Athena, come a bit closer? We’ll see what you get together, alright?”

Athena grinned, head bobbing up and down. She adjusted her glasses, then looked right at Emily. “Should I do it?”

“Go ahead.”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, then she smiled. “Done!”

“Nice,” Emily said. “Status, Athena.”

“Who’s Hoo,” Emily repeated. “That’s an interesting name.” She didn’t point out that it was another terrible, terrible pun. “Skill: Who’s Hoo,” she muttered.

That... seemed particularly cruel. And useful. It could be a skill that levelled a playing field. Though it looked like Athena could just target one person at a time with it. Would it work on powered enemies as well as normal people?

“That seems very powerful,” Emily finally said.

“Yeah!” Athena agreed. “Can I use it on Teddy? She’s probably too thick to figure it out though.”

Emily shook her head. “Please, don’t hurt your sisters, or use your powers on them. It’s not nice.”

Athena pouted. “Fine. I guess she is my sister, even if she’s a dumb brute.”

Emily raised her arms for a hug, and Athena eagerly crashed into her. Once the hug was over, Athena rushed back to the bed and leapt up onto it.

“Hey! I warmed that spot up!” Teddy protested.

“And now you’re not there no more, so it’s mine,” Athena shot back.

Emily rolled her eyes and focused on Trinity. “You’re next?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Trinity said. One of her ran over to Emily and jumped backwards so that she sat on Emily’s lap. “Okay, so I just unlock a new power, yeah?”

“That’s right,” Emily said.

Trinity’s faces all twisted in concentration, and Emily was worried for a moment before she grinned three times over. “Got it!”

“Status: Trinity.”

“Aww, yeah!” Trinity said. She immediately ran into a wall with one of her bodies, thumped against the drywall hard enough that Emily winced at the possibility of leaving a crack, then instead of falling back, she clung into the wall with an open palm. She started to try to climb her way up the wall, but all she could manage was to bounce on the spot while her hands stayed stuck above her head.

“Uh,” Emily said. “Skill: Sticky Fingers?”

That was a rather horrific skill. She could imagine Trinity sticking onto people, or walls, or things she wasn’t supposed to touch. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend the headache away.

“Hey, is it my turn yet?” Teddy asked.

The bear-girl was still bleary-eyed, her hair all mussed up and matted with drool.

“Are you ready to use your skill slot?” Emily asked.

“Yeah,” Teddy said. She crossed her arms. “Yeah, it’s done,” she said.

“Let me see,” Emily said. “Status: Teddy.”

“Bearly Hurt?” Emily asked. “Is that another ability that’ll keep you safe?”

“Yeah, I need to be even harder to hurt,” Teddy said. “That way I can protect people better and focus more on hurting others.”

“I see,” Emily said. “Skill: Barely Hurt.”

“That looks like a great skill,” Emily said. She didn’t know how much protection that would offer, and it seemed to give less when Teddy was in her normal, human form, but any amount of additional protection was good.

“Yeah,” Teddy said with obvious confidence. “I’m gonna be so tough.”

“Physically, maybe,” Athena said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Teddy asked.

“Girls,” Emily warned.

She still had her own skill slot to use up. She hesitated for a moment, but there wasn’t much to gain in not using it. Unless it gave her a fourth sister to take care of... then again, so far there had been a pattern, and she was pretty sure it would hold true.

Do you wish to spend a Skill Slot point on the Power: Sister Summoning?

“Yes,” Emily said.

New Skill unlocked!
Menagerie Family has been added to your Power’s Skills!

She frowned as she opened the skill’s description.

That had some potential.

She'd have to test it all though.

***