I really didn't want to fight Lady Thunder. Partly, because I knew she had superstrength and durability and could crush me with her pinky finger, but also because I liked her a lot. I wanted to be friends, and maybe more. Unfortunately, it seemed to be too late for that.

Lady Thunder roared as she charged at me from across the bank with both fists raised. I panicked and once again, my telekinesis kicked in on reflex.

I reached out with my mind to grab her and hold her back. She grunted with effort as I forced my will on her, but I felt the strain on my power just holding her in place and didn't budge her an inch.

Instead of pushing her back, I tried throwing her to one side, sending her flying into the counter, crashing through to scatter the tellers on the other side.

For a moment, I felt relieved that I had managed to knock her down, but she got up much quicker than I thought she would. Her eyes blazed with even more anger which I hadn't thought possible.

She smashed her way out of the broken counter with one arm while sweeping her other hand at me. "Knock it off with your stupid games!"

I didn't want to actually hurt Lady Thunder by using my telekinesis directly on her so I tried another way. The desks and chairs in the bank's offices came flying out into her path to get between me and her. She swung her fists and smashed them into splinters with ease, so they provided little protection. Even worse, they reminded me that one punch from her would pulverize me.

I didn't want to hurt her but I knew I had to defend myself so I stumbled back and fired my weapon at her. Bullets bounced off her skin, smashing lightbulbs and punching holes in the walls, but didn't even tear her costume. When I switched to my freeze ray and fired it at her, the ice crystallized around her arms and breasts, but she cracked it open with a flex of her chest.

"You're just making it worse, Pain," she yelled.

Adam obeyed my earlier command before entering the bank and shot at her, too, while marching between me and her. Her fists rammed right through his metal chest, tearing him in two and leaving him in pieces on the ground, twitching and throwing off sparks.

I admit, I felt sorry to see him go. He didn't stop her, but did give me enough of a distraction for me to slip past her and run out of the front door.

I stumbled out of the bank and tried to run for his van, but I heard the door bang open behind me, right before she leaped over me and landed on the sidewalk between me and the van. Her boots left cracks in the sidewalk as she loomed over me.

She smacked a fist into the palm of her other hand. "You know, if you had just stood still and took it like a man, I might have gone easy on you. Now you made me mad."

I took a step back. "My dear lady, there has been a terrible misunderstanding."

She took a step forward. "Yeah, there's been a misunderstanding, that you can just rob any bank you want in this city without bothering to check with the Kindred. I'm gonna make sure you never make that mistake again."

I used my telekinesis to grab a nearby hot dog cart and drag it into Lady Thunder. "I have no wish to fight you."

She swatted the hot dog cart away like a fly buzzing by her ear. It crashed into the street behind her, where passing cars skidded and crashed into it.

She just kept walking. "Oh, you're not gonna fight me. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you, and you're gonna take it. That's not a fight."

Without being able to get to the van, I didn't have much chance of escaping so I decided I needed to fight back with stronger methods. I reached out with my telekinesis to grab a Buick in the street and lifted it off the ground. The doors opened and the passengers came scrambling out as it rose higher. As Lady Thunder turned to look behind her, I threw the car at her.

She caught it in the air, one end in each hand, and crushed it between them like a tin can.

That surprised me so much that I froze.

It gave her time for her to yell "My turn" and throw the metal ball she had made at me.

I dove out of the way as the crushed car banged into the wall of the bank, crushing bricks and sending me flying.

As I sat up, I felt something on my face fall away. My goggles. Lady Thunder moved quicker than I thought, standing over me with a fist raised. I braced myself for the first punch.

She lowered the fist and squinted at me. "Hey, you look familiar. Don't I know you?"

I grabbed the goggles and pulled them over my eyes. "No, I am Professor Pain, and I--"

Her whole face brightened as she snapped a finger and smiled. "Carter! Carter Cain! Is that you?"

I stared at her, wondering how she knew who I was.

"It is you," she yelled while patting her chest with her hands, and lowered her voice to almost whisper. "It's me, Roxanne Thompson. We went to junior high together."

At that moment, I knew why I had been so obsessed with Lady Thunder since I first saw her on the news. Because she reminded me of Roxanne.

For a little while, I had been allowed to go to a regular school in between bouts of juvenile detention. In eighth grade English, I sat behind a beautiful girl that I fell for the moment I saw her. She had long, flowing red hair, gray eyes, and freckles that I wanted to kiss so badly. I couldn't tell you what I learned those few months, because I spent most of my time staring at the back of Roxanne's head, daydreaming about her. Her walking in every morning, smiling, and saying "hi" to me became the highlight of my day, even though that was the extent of our conversations. After a few months, I ended up running away from home, stealing a car, and ended up back in juvie so I never saw her again.

I don't know which shocked me more; the fact that Lady Thunder was really my junior high school crush or the fact that she remembered me.

Knowing she recognized me made me think how I looked in that silly white wig and scientist costume and I felt embarrassed.

"Roxanne," I blurted, "how did you-I didn't--"

She bent down and held out her hand to me. "I'm so sorry, I wouldn't have beaten you up if I'd known it was you. What are you doing here?"

I took her hand just as I heard sirens growing louder. "I'd love to have this conversation but I believe the police will have more difficult questions for us. Let's move on to a more private location."

She pulled me to my feet. "Oh, sure, good idea. Is this your van?"

I nodded while running around to the back. I didn't think she would fit in the passenger seat so I opened the back for her to get in. The whole van groaned and leaned to one side as she climbed in, and I didn't think she would fit but she managed to squeeze in. I shut the doors, limped to the driver's side, jumped behind the wheel, jammed my foot on the gas pedal and skidded out just as the police cars came howling down the street.

When I turned the corner, I swung into an alley, flipped the switch, and changed the color and license plate. Coming out of the alley, I slowed down and let the police cars howl by me, none the wiser.

Lady Thunder had her knees up by her shoulders as she laughed. "I can't believe it. Carter, after all these years, I can't believe it! You're Professor Pain?"

"And I can't believe you're Lady Thunder. You look so, uh, different."

Lady Thunder giggled. "Oh, yeah, funny story. I was on a trip with my high school track team and the school bus got hit by a truck full of toxic chemicals. I was on that side and my window was down so I got splashed with all of it, and it turned me into this. Crazy, right?"

I nodded while shooting her glances in the rear-view mirror. "It certainly is."

"How about you? You look so different. And sound different."

"Oh, yes, well, I was caught in an explosion at the laboratory where I worked and it gave me super-intelligence."

"Wow." She spread her hands. "And we both decided to become supervillains. That's so nutty. I mean, what are the odds? Hey, you wanna grab lunch? I know a great burger joint and I'll pick up the tab. Least I can do for almost crushing you."

She giggled again, and it was music to my ears.

I smiled, trying not to show how excited I was at the prospect of a date with her. "That sounds delightful."

She gave me directions to a diner on Bullet Avenue called the Trojan Diner that didn't look like much. I could see a family eating by the window, and saw an old guy sitting at the counter, sipping coffee. I pulled up to the front door, but she shook her head and pointed to a nearby alley.

"No," she said, "go around the back."

I obeyed, driving around to go to the back of the diner which had nothing but an open lot and some dumpsters.

She pointed at my steering wheel. "Honk the horn twice."

I did it.

When the second horn blew, a portion of the ground cracked open and swung upwards. It turned out to be a hatch disguised as asphalt.

She climbed out of the van and stretched before walking over to the dark hole it opened up. "Come on, this place is great and private. Leave your costume on."

I followed her, leaving my wig and goggles on, and limping with my cane.

The hole led to a staircase that I climbed down to find another diner underground. This one had a lot more people, all wearing costumes. I recognized some of them like the Crimson Hammer, Chief Thundering Gorilla, and Electrocutus, all supervillains.

Lady Thunder swaggered a little as she walked in. "Nice, huh? It's the only place in the city we supervillains can go without having to take off our costumes. In my case, since I stick out like a sore thumb, it's the only place I can go and relax without getting spotted. The City's Saviors don't even know about it. And the milkshakes are hand-mixed."

A plump woman with spikes of jagged white hair wiped down the bar and smiled up at her. "Hiya, Thunder. Haven't seen you in a while. Who's your friend?"

Lady Thunder pointed down at me. "This is Professor Pain, Agnes. Old friend from high school."

The waitress smiled. "Well, nice to meet you. You know the rules of this place, Professor?"

I shook my head. "Uh, I suppose not."

"Well, it's simple. Drive around the back, honk twice, door opens. You don't tell anybody about this place who don't wear a cape or a mask. You don't come here in your civvies. You're out of costume, you go in the front door like anyplace else. If any superheroes find out about this, we'll blow it up, hunt down whoever squealed, and kill 'em. Understand?"

I nodded. "Quite so."

"Good. What'll you have?"

Lady Thunder held up two fingers. "Two burgers and fries, two beers. Medium rare, okay, Professor?"

"Uh, yes. Thank you."

We made our way to a table in the corner. One chair was much larger than the other, and Lady Thunder sat down comfortably in it. I sat down across from her and adjusted a knob that raised my seat to her level.

Agnes plopped some mugs of beer on the table, and we both took sips before Lady Thunder leaned forward again. "I can't believe it. Little Carter Cain, all grown up and robbing banks."

I grinned. "I can't believe you're here, either. I didn't think you even knew who I was."

"Well, sure. We sat together for so long. And I used to cheat off your papers. Okay, so let's get into this. What've you been up to since junior high?"

I chuckled as I took another swallow of beer. "In and out of prison, mostly. I don't know if you were aware, but I was an orphan growing up and didn't take too well to life in general. I was a janitor at a laboratory when I was caught in an explosion that enhanced my mind. How about yourself?"

She sighed. "Well, after my little accident, I grew ten inches in a week. While I struggled to find pants that fit, and keep from putting my fist through walls, my parents didn't take it too well and got a divorce. Dad moved out of town, Mom started hitting the booze, and I ended up the butt of every joker in school. Finally got tired of being their punching bag, and decided to punch one of them for real. Put him in the hospital eating his meals through a straw, and I ended up in jail tried as an adult for assault. After I got out, I figured I might as well make the most of being an ex-con and went with the supervillain game."

She took a long swallow of beer before nodding at me. "What's with the getup?"

I adjusted my goggles while I spoke. "This is my disguise as Professor Pain. I have decided to use my newfound intelligence for ill-gotten gains, starting with the bank robbery."

She took another sip of beer before shaking her head. "Intelligence. What kind of intelligence are we talking about?"

I smiled as I drew my pistol and set it down on the table between us. "I built this. It's a combination freeze ray and railgun. I also built the robot that you saw with me in the bank. Completely autonomous."

She nodded while looking it over. "Impressive."

With her small praise, my chest swelled like a peacock. "And that's not all. I made a mouse bigger and more intelligent. I'm planning to do the same thing with my dog. And I plan to build an army of robots to kill Captain Maximum and take over St. Newton."

Her jaw dropped. "Wow, that's even more impressive. You've got some pretty big plans. Why do you wanna pick on Captain Maximum, though?"

"Because," I said slowly and deliberately, "he killed my parents. When I was eight years old, Captain Maximum and Bloodbath were fighting at the Curry International Airport and my family and I were in a plane on the runway. Captain Maximum threw Bloodbath right through the tail section, snapped the plane in half, and my parents were crushed. He would have killed my brother and myself as well if we had been just one row closer."

I waited for the look of pity to sweep over her face like it did with everyone else when they heard my story.

Instead, she did what no one else had done when I told them my story. She got angry.

"That fucking asshole," she yelled. "Are you serious? Did he even apologize?"

I shook my head, a bit shocked by her reaction. "Uh, no. He didn't. He just took Bloodbath to jail."

The hamburgers arrived, and she picked her burger up while shaking her head. "You know, I tangled with Captain Maximum a couple of times, both with some teams I hooked up with briefly, and he was a real ass. Once, I was tied up by Tricky Dick, already captured, and he punched me in the face. For no reason. I know most of the people in this city suck his dick, but I really never liked him."

She took a bite, and chewed angrier than anyone I've ever seen. "So that's why you wanna kill him? I don't blame you. Now I wanna kill him myself."

You should know, this is the moment when I fell in love with Lady Thunder.

"Do you really?" I asked, maybe a little too quickly. "Because I could use a partner. We could team up. With my mind and your strength, we could be unstoppable."

She made a face. "I dunno. I mean, is it even possible to kill him? I thought he was indestructible."

"Nothing is indestructible. Even diamonds, one of the strongest natural substances on Earth, have minor flaws called inclusions that allow them to be shattered easily. Everything has a weakness. I will find Captain Maximum's."

She chewed for a moment that seemed to last for hours. I watched her, almost begging in my mind for her to agree. On the one hand, I really did think her brute strength would be invaluable, especially seeing how badly my first robot had held up in combat. I needed someone who could stand up to Captain Maximum, blow for blow.

More than that, I wanted her by my side. By that time, I knew I had fallen for her, and I didn't want her to lose touch with me again. Sure, I knew I might not have a shot at romance, but I had to try. If I hadn't asked her, I would have put a gun in my mouth in the van on the way home.

She surprised me for a second time when she shrugged, and said, "Okay, let's do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't really have any kind of grand plan except stealing stuff. Besides, I don't want you to get yourself killed. For such a genius, you sure make a lot of dumb mistakes."

I had taken a bite of my hamburger but that made me put it down. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Because you decided to rob a bank without even checking to see what would happen. If you'd spent five minutes on Google, you'd have known this whole city is run by the Kindred. All the major cities in this country are."

I paused, knowing I shouldn't ask, but did anyway. "What's the Kindred?"

"See? You're hopeless." She snorted. "And your nickname, Professor Pain. That's such a lousy name."

I know I shouldn't have but I immediately grew angry from wounded pride. "No, it's not."

"Yes, it is." She widened her eyes. "I mean, think about it, is inflicting pain what you want to be known for?"

I chewed my French fries for a moment. "Uh, well, no. Not really. I just wanted it to sound scary."

"See? That sucks. You're not about pain. You're just really smart. Your supervillain name should reflect what you do and who you are. Professor Pain is the name of a guy who, like, teaches college courses on torturing people."

"Oh yeah, and Lady Thunder is better? Why the Lady? You're afraid people won't know you're a woman? And do you make clouds and lightning bolts?"

She jabbed a finger at him. "Hey, my supervillain name is solid. It's stood the test of time and served me well."

"Well, do you have a better idea?"

She popped a French fry into her mouth and chewed for a moment before she gave me a shrug. "I dunno. We'll think of something."

"Does that mean we're partners?"

She nodded and held out her hand. "Yes. Partners."

I shook the soft hand, and our partnership was sealed. And her hand was quite soft, despite her strength.