amaotonovel Chapter 202 Public Relations
Chapter 202 Public Relations
"Oh!"
Teddy stopped abruptly mid-sentence and turned to look at Trinity. "What's wrong?" she asked.
While teaching new believers is important (even if some seem too cool to accept communist ideology), it has to be put aside if the sisters and the leader get into trouble. And Trinity is definitely the first to know.
Trini skipped over to Teddy and waved away the children who were playing with her. "The boss said we have to go now!" Trini said.
“What did she say?” Teddy asked. “It was like… ‘Hey! We have to go right now!’” She mimicked the boss’s tense and loud tone. “Or more like ‘Okay, let’s go now.’” This time she tried to mimic the boss’s usual tense tone.
Trini frowned, tilting her head slightly to one side as she pondered. "I think it sounds like this: 'Trini, can you tell Teddy to come to the hall? You come too. Don't steal food from others on the street. And tell Teddy not to start a revolution.'"
Teddy snorted. "Your imitation of the boss's voice is awful."
"No, it's your imitation that's awful."
Teddy shook his head. "No, that's not it. I imitated her so well that people can't tell us apart. That's because we're related by blood; I'm her younger sister."
Trini blinked. "But I'm her sister too, aren't I?"
“Your sister is only a third of what I am, so your ability to imitate her is only a third as good as mine,” Teddy said. The mathematical logic was impeccable. Teddy grinned, turned to her followers, and jumped back onto the table she had just used for preaching. “Alright. Essentially, those people who want to sell you things are probably capitalist lackeys; they just want to take all your money to buy food. Remember, those people aren't even human, so it doesn't matter if you kick them a few times.”
Teddy gave them a thumbs up and then jumped off the table.
Trini pouted beside her. "I'm not a third sister," she said. "I asked the eldest, and she said that sometimes I cause three times more trouble than others, which means I'm three times better as a sister than you."
Teddy and Trinity argued back and forth as they walked out of the hospital. When they passed Meraton, they stopped briefly to tell her they were leaving, since she happened to be nearby.
Meradon is pretty cool as a hero, but she's ultimately a hero, which implies she's not all that cool. It's not entirely her fault… Teddy frowned. In fact, superpowers are usually matched with the moral compass of the person who gains them. So it's definitely Meradon's fault.
She might try to project a cool, suave, and somewhat anti-heroic image, but deep down she's definitely a good person. No matter how dark and stylish her battle attire is, or how gruff and menacing her voice sounds, she's still reading to sick children in a hospital—that's just too lame.
Soon they found their leader and the other sisters. Maple, Athena, and the rest of the Trini walked around the hospital entrance, signing autographs for some fans.
Teddy didn't quite understand the whole autograph thing. Her villainous title, "Ursa Minor," was quite long, and her handwriting was rather messy. Besides, people were paying her to write their names on things. It was so strange, and sometimes she worried it was a bit too capitalist.
However, she does enjoy the attention. Sometimes she lets people touch her ears, and everyone seems to like it.
“You’ve arrived,” the eldest sister said. She seemed…not actually that nervous. This was perhaps her best state. Teddy had always secretly been proud of every step Sienna had taken on her path to becoming a better villain, and building confidence was a crucial part of that.
Obviously, Teddy doesn't need to worry about this, because she's a bear (with an aura of confidence).
"Alright, we'll be leaving in a bit. I need to say goodbye to the comfort envoy first, and then tell... the agents of the Human Resources Foundation that we're leaving."
The leader led them outside, gesturing and talking to the person holding the writing board, then walked towards the hero in the patchwork jacket. Teddy followed behind, and when Sienna wasn't paying much attention, he took her hand.
“You handled things very well today,” the comforter said. “I know you may rarely hear this kind of talk because people take it for granted as a hero, but I’m really proud of you, boss.”
“Oh, uh, thank you,” the eldest said.
Teddy squinted at his sister, looking up and even sniffing her, as if to confirm. Sienna didn't seem to be in love with him, but her face was flushed. "Thank you. I'm grateful. I... being a hero can be tough sometimes."
The comforter smiled and said, “We’ve all done our best, but I understand. These places are indeed difficult to deal with. However, remember that you made a change today, and if you continue, it will be the same tomorrow and the day after. If we all put in some effort and show more kindness, the world will be a better place. At least, I’m willing to believe that!”
Teddy snorted. In her professional villain's eyes, this guy was an idiot.
“Okay, thank you again, comforter. Perhaps we’ll meet again,” Sienna said.
Not long after, she pulled Teddy back to the others who were waiting nearby.
“This guy is completely wrong,” Teddy said.
"Is that what you think?" the boss asked.
"Yeah. He was too optimistic, so he was a fool. Heroes always think that way, that they can save the world. But in reality, they're just maintaining the status quo. He wanted to help people recover, but he never thought about preventing people from getting hurt in the first place."
“I don’t think it’s stupid to want to help,” Sienna said.
Teddy shook his head. "If people get injured in a car accident, you either have to spend a lot of time treating the injured or blow up any speeding cars."
“Then you’ll blow up a lot of people,” Sienna said.
"It's only temporary. I bet the people who didn't get blown up will slow down their driving. If people get sick from eating bad food, you either cure them or burn down the factories that produce that food. If people are dying from old age, you either stand by or fight death. That's the core of villainy."
Sienna looked down at Teddy. "This idea... uh, is too destructive."
Teddy shook his head. "No, it's called being proactive. Heroes react passively, while villains take the initiative. That's why we're better. Well, that's just one reason. We're also cooler."
"I don't think all change stems from destruction. Sometimes people build new and beautiful things out of good intentions."
"Yes, that's right. But usually it's just to enable them to better deal with problems. And this kind of change takes months or even years to happen."
"I think sometimes we can wait. I don't want to be the kind of person who hurts others to get what I want."
Teddy shrugged. "If you don't want to be the villain, you don't have to hurt everyone. You just need to deal with those who stand in your way of getting what you want."
Sienna sighed, but seemed unable to refute Teddy's words. This was obvious, because Teddy knew he was absolutely right.
The two walked in silence for a while until they returned to the rest of the group. "Alright! Hope everyone had a great time today!"
“It’s alright,” Athena said. “Social activities aren’t very fun, but I think there are some advantages to it. And we’ve done a lot of good public relations.”
"What is 'public relations'?" Trini asked. "Is it edible?"
“No, that’s a pear,” Maple said.
“Not pear, it’s public relations (PR),” Athena repeated, drawing out the two letters.
“Your pee smells terrible,” Teddy said.
The boss had to separate the two of them because Athena, upon hearing this, decided to tap Teddy on the head, while Teddy just laughed and retaliated, after all, she was stronger and smarter.
“Alright, stop fooling around,” Sienna said. “I think we’ve already attracted enough attention today. I don’t want a video of you two fighting on a video website.”
“Teddy started it,” Athena said.
“It was her stench that started it,” Teddy retorted. She grinned, thinking the retort was brilliant. But the eldest just sighed and started walking home.
Teddy thought to himself, one day, the boss will learn how to be a decent villain.
By then, she will appreciate Teddy's wonderful sense of humor even more!