POWERLESS
The villain noticed that, for whatever reason, the hero was completely off their game. As they fought, their blows had no weight to them, their movements were sloppy, and their blocks could practically be broken by a short gust of wind. And then, in a bizarrely uncharacteristic display of behavior - the hero stole the villain’s usual move when a fight wasn’t going their way - they attempted to flee.
They didn’t get far before the villain tackled them down, straddling the hero’s thighs and pressing their wrists against the ground by their head. They sneered as the hero feebly struggled in their grip.
“So, my supposed ‘nemesis’ is this easy to take down?” The villain scoffed, leaning down close to the hero’s face. “How pathetic.”
It didn’t feel earned. The hero wasn’t usually this weak - they could normally bat the villain yards away like they were merely swatting a fly... but now, in their current state, even a fly could probably best them.
Something was wrong.
“Ugh! LET GO OF ME, ASSHOLE!“ The hero shrieked, squirming desperately underneath the weight of the villain. “Get the FUCK OFF!”
The villain narrowed their eyes, peering down at them, and then paused. Staring at their neck, they noticed an odd mark... a small puncture wound, like the hero’s skin was pierced by something... Oh, shit. They blinked, peering closer. It was some kind of injection... but of what? They removed a hand pinning one of the hero’s arms, because it’s not like they could do anything with it anyway, and held it in front of the hero’s face.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Huh?” The hero blinked up at them, pausing their thrashing at the sound of the villain’s concerned tone. Then, they huffed, rolling their eyes. “Very funny.”
“What?”
“Wait...” The hero’s brow furrowed. “You mean you don’t know? But it was practically broadcast to all of my-“
The hero was cut off by the sound of a super-weapon charging up, and when they both looked to the side they were greeted by a comically large barrel of a gun.
“Step aside, villain.” Another one of the hero’s enemies called out, a wide smirk spreading on their face as they eased their finger on the trigger of the super-weapon. They aligned their eye with the scope, aiming directly at the hero. “They’re mine.”
The hero cursed under their breath.
Then, yet another enemy flew in, landing in their immediate vicinity with a ready fighting stance. “Ladies first.”
And another. “I call dibs.”
“Well, this is the worst day of my life,” the hero croaked, trembling as they tried to swallow down their panic. “...and probably the last.”
The villain threw up a temporary force field around them, and then pointedly turned their gaze back to the hero.
“I’m going to need an explanation.”
The hero’s eyes had a hopeless glaze in them, but then - out of all things - they laughed. “Haven’t you noticed? I lost my powers! I’m completely fucking powerless!”
The villain’s eyebrows flew up. Oh. The injection... it was some kind of serum that took away their powers... and now they were the easy target of all of their worst enemies, which are currently pounding at the weakening force field.
The hero was throughly doomed. Unless...
“If you don’t want to die today, you’re going to do everything I say.” The villain ground out through their clenched teeth. “Got it?”
“What? You mean that you’re going to help me?” The hero blurted out, then they eyed the villain skeptically. “Why?”
“Now’s not the time for questions.” The villain stated before they rose to their feet. They held their hand out to the hero expectantly. “Now, grab my hand, quick. This force field isn’t going to last much longer.”
The hero brought themselves up to their elbows and bit their lip, brows furrowing as they considered taking the villain’s hand.
The force field shook, destabilizing from the force of the imminent threats awaiting the hero outside.
“Now or never, hero.” The villain said, extending their hand out further.
The hero closed their eyes, exhaling out of their nose as they grit their teeth. A short, contemplative moment passed, as the hero weighed the risks - coming to the conclusion that they were screwed no matter what - and their eyes popped open decisively.
“Fuck it.”
They clasped the villain’s hand, effectively placing their trust - and their life - in the hands of their sworn enemy.
The force field encompassing them fell, leaving them unguarded. Their enemies were on them in seconds, before the villain hastily threw down a smoke bomb from their belt.
Then, with their hands still clasped together, the villain bolted, dragging hero along in tow.