Tigress was lucky she had passed acting classes in high school, or else she wouldn't have been able to get off the island at all.
She had pretended that her memory was wiped, while it really wasn't, since she messed with Dr. Bellum's machine before she had entered the room with Maelstrom.
And damn, was she glad that her acting skills had payed off.
Tigress strolled through the bustling streets of Dubai, looking for any familiar faces. Whether VILE operatives she had worked with or not.
She sighed, while thinking of one other option she had left—to go back to her family.
Yes, she had lived in Dubai before enrolling into VILE Academy. While her family was originally from New Hampshire.
They had moved there when she was around seven-years-old. And ever since then, Dubai is where they lived.
When Sheena was fifteen, she and her friends were shopping at Dubai Mall. And one of her friend's credit card was expired, so she couldn't buy an expensive handbag she had wanted. So, Sheena stepped in and shoplifted it, while being careful to remove the detector first. That way, she didn't get caught.
Or so, she had thought.
Someone who was browsing around witnessed her snatch the handbag and remove its tags. And he reported her crime to an employee.
Sheena's parents were furious with her after they heard what had happened. Her phone got taken away, she was grounded for two months, and the only places she could go to were school and work. And if she was caught breaking the rules, her parents would add another week.
And once Sheena turned eighteen, that's when she faced the full punishment for her crime. She was sentenced to one year in prison. And that's when VILE approached her.
They offered her a way out, but in exchange, she had to enroll in their school for thieves and become a VILE operative. And Sheena agreed.
And so, Tigress was born.
And Sheena was long gone...until now.
Sheena was back home. In Dubai. And she was afraid of facing her own family. That's right, she was afraid of something for once.
"...Sheena?"
Tigress froze in her place when she heard the voice call out her name. Her real name, not her code name like everyone else called her for years.
Tigress whipped her head around to see a woman who looked identical to her standing a few feet away.
"...Mom?" Tigress whispered.
The woman launched herself at her daughter so suddenly, pulling her into a hug. "My little girl.."
Tigress reluctantly returned the hug. "Mom.." She repeated, this time, more emotionally.
Her mother, Caroline, pulled away and looked into her daughter's bright blue eyes. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"
Tigress chuckled. "Missed you too, Mom."
Her mother took her by the wrist and practically dragged her along with her. Ignoring Tigress's sounds of protest.
"C'mon! The others are going to be so glad you're back!"
__________________
When Tigress, no..Sheena, got home, everything felt so in place in her life once again.
She got several hugs from her little siblings and, of course, her father, John.
"My little star..all grown up." John said, hugging his eldest daughter tightly.
Sheena chuckled and hugged back, burying her face into her father's shoulder. "Hey, Dad.."
They pulled away, and John excitedly took Sheena's wrist and dragged her to their living room. And there she saw..her older brother. Trevor.
Trevor smirked teasingly at her. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to come back."
Sheena rolled her eyes. "Of course I did. You guys are my family."
Trevor snickered. "Awww..I always knew you were soft!" He said, ruffling his little sister's hair.
Sheena growled, slapping his hand away. "I am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too~"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
As the two siblings argued, everyone else watched in amusement. It was good to see the two siblings interact this way again, after so long. It was..refreshing.
After a few more minutes of screaming at each other, Sheena and Trevor finally stopped. And Sheena accepted her fate of turning soft.
Caroline laughed. "Okay, who's ready for dinner?"
"ME!" The younger siblings, Anna, Kaitlyn, and Cheryl yelled.
Caroline turned to Sheena. "Come on, honey! You can tell us all about Switzerland!"
Sheena internally cringed. Right. Since she was recruited by VILE in secret, Sheena had to lie to her family in order to enroll at VILE Academy and become a thief. So, she told everyone she was attending a poshy college in Switzerland.
Boy, did she not think that she'll have to face her past lies eventually in her life.
Sheena took a deep breath. "Uhh..yeah..about that..I lied. There is no poshy college in Switzerland I went to." She said, looking down at her feet in shame.
Everyone else in the room gasped. Shocked that their older sister, their daughter, would lie to them. Especially about going to college.
"You mean I gave you almost one-thousand dollars for nothing?!" Caroline suddenly shouted. Slamming her fist on the table.
"That is unacceptable, young lady!" John yelled, agreeing with his wife. As the others just stared at her in shock.
Sheena's eyes welled up with tears. "You think I don't know that?!" She shot back.
"You think I wanted to lie to you?! Because I didn't! I had..I had no other choice." She said, sighing.
She felt the gears turn in her head. Should she tell them about VILE? About what she's been doing for all these years she's been away from home?
Caroline glared at her daughter. "Oh? And what exactly have you been doing all this time instead of going to college?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Trevor nodded. "I'd like to know that too, little sis."
"You really want to know?" Sheena asked.
"YES!" Trevor, Caroline and John all yelled in unison.
Sheena sighed. "When I was in jail for shoplifting, I was approached by a group. They call themselves VILE. They're named publicly as Valuable Imports, Lavish Exports. But, once you are recruited, they tell you the true name."
Caroline frowned. "And what is that true name?"
"Villains International League of Evil. VILE."
Her entire family gasped. But the loudest of all of them was, unsurprisingly, her parents.
"WHAT?!"