The Hero bursts through a wall, mere masonry no match for his might. Civilians inside scream briefly, but when he shouts “The eyes of justice gaze upon you!” they recognize their savior.
So does the Villainess terrorizing them.
“You!” she yells in disbelief.
“Yes! Me!”
But then, a heartbeat later, he realizes he recognizes her face too.
“No…it can’t be… Slipstream?”
It’s her alright. Her cute, pastel pink suit has been replaced with one in mostly black with a much more revealing cut, but that’s her vulpine grin and her super speed…
Disbelief yields to the cold weight of truth. This is his former teammate.
“I can’t believe I finally have the chance to kick your ass, you sanctimo—”
He has no stomach to listen to her villainous ranting. With that mind control visor on her, it’s not even her any more.
He focuses a blast of pure force and deftly knocks the device off her face.
“You must be in there somewhere, Slip!” He calls to her, desperate to undo the wicked brainwashing that turned a champion of justice into an enemy of the nation. “Fight it!”
“My name, you festering pile of…” She trails off, as though distracted or confused.
“Yes, that’s it, remember who you are!”
The former hero squeezes her eyes shut, furrows her brow, and then looks up with pleading eyes.
“Is…is that you, Gazer?”
“Yes! I’m here!”
“It…it’s hard. I’m fighting the mind control, but…”
Her face betrays the effort of her internal battle, and her body sways, losing balance. He swoops swiftly to catch her fall, a spark of hope blooming in his heart.
“Stay with me. Remember yourself.”
“R-remember…?”
He speaks quickly, trying to fan the flame of the true heroic self within her. “We were on a team together. Years ago. We fought side by side against evil in all its myriad forms. You, me, and Radiant. Remember that old rascal?”
“Yes…I remember them, I—”
“He tried to come in between us, but I always knew, deep in my heart, that you only had eyes for me. Justice may be my first love, but you—”
In a blur, she sucker-punches him in the gut, and the hero doubles over in pain.
“Are you fucking serious with this? I’m a lesbian!”
“Drat!” The hero gasps in pain. “How fiendish! Have they truly convinced you to lay aside all natural desires for—”
In a flurry of blows too quick to react to, she elbows him in the face, kicks out his legs, and slams his head face down into the floor.
She hisses into his ear, biting off each word, “I. Have. Always. Been. Gay.”
She kicks him again in the side while he lays on the ground, his vision swimming, thoughts unfocused.
“They never mind controlled me, you ass. They just offered me a better vision of the future.”
The hero’s head is ringing. Everything is a blur.
He is unable to react as the hero he thought he knew picks up the mind-control visor and slips it back on her face.
“We’re done here,” she says. “Oh, but I also want you to know your catchphrase is the fucking worst.”
Someone else—another villain, judging by the matching black suit—strides through the doorway and whistles appreciatively at the scene.
“Oh, well done, darling. You have become so much more deliciously dangerous without those pesky inhibitions holding you back.”
The former hero embraces the imposing figure. “Yeah? Got any more capes I can beat up to impress you?”
The one with the commanding voice chuckles appreciatively. “Don’t worry, dear one, I’ll find something for you to do.”
They stride away, arm in arm.