“Hurry up!” the supervillain Eros yelled down the stairwell, already faintly out of breath from all the running and climbing. “We don’t have all day! This is a heist, you know.”

“Yes, my love!” called back an even more breathless security guard. She was carrying a huge duffel bag stuffed with cash, and despite how red-faced from exertion she was, the vibrant red lipstick mark on her face stood out even more. “Anything for you!”

Trailing behind her were a few more guards and bank tellers, each one of whom was carrying a duffel bag and each one of whom was wearing one of Eros’s little kisses on their face. One after the other, they each replied with their toothachingly sweet little professions of devotion and undying affection.

Eros rolled her eyes. Hearing her love-drunk minions babble got old very, very fast. But if it was the price of becoming a successful supervillain, so be it.

Admittedly, calling herself a successful supervillain was getting a little ahead of herself. Eros hadn’t yet succeeded at anything more than robbing a few high-end stores so she could put together a costume while she tested the limits of her ‘power’. She didn’t know much about the life of a villain, and she certainly didn’t know anything about fighting superheroes.

But as a perpetually-overworked administrative assistant, she knew a great deal about timing and scheduling. For her first big heist, Eros had put those talents to good use. The likely time it would take for someone to sound the alarm. The delay before the cops arrived. The time it would take to grab everything and get out.  Eros had it all memorized. She’d planned it out like clockwork. At this day and time, once a week, a helicopter landed on top of the building that held the Pierce Street bank to accept delivery of some sensitive financial documents. It was the perfect way out, and Eros had already taken care of the pilot.

Everything was perfect. Eros had even spent a week scouring social media for superhero sightings. If she was right, the bank was far enough from any patrol routes that they should be able to avoid any interventions.

It was still a risk, of course. Heroes were unpredictable. But the millions in those duffel bags was worth any risk. And Eros was thrilled to be doing something truly selfish for a change.

“Here!” she called, as she reached the top of the stairwell and pushed open the door that led out to the helipad. “Load it into the heli. And quick!”

Her adoring, unwitting goons hastened to obey. And as they did, Eros took a moment to re-apply her lipstick.

Her vivid red lipstick was the key to everything. It was Eros, just as much as she was. After years of thankless work as an administrative assistant at a cosmetics company, Eros had already been ready to snap - and when she’d seen the discarded lipstick formula before it was to be destroyed, it had seemed like an opportunity too perfect not to take.

According to the government, it was both unethical and dangerous. Whenever she thought about that, it brought a grin to Eros’s face. In a way, she’d proven them right.

Love was a very, very dangerous thing. In a way, cosmetic companies had always been aiming to create artificial love, be it with the right color, the right shape, or the right scent. But Eros’s company had gone further. They had created a lipstick that could make someone fall in love with a single kiss. Eros didn’t know how it worked, but it certainly worked. She’d stolen the formula, and ‘redirected’ enough raw materials to synthesize it herself. And now she had love itself painted all over her lips.

But as it turned out, love was more than just a pretty word. If someone truly loved you, you could convince them to do anything - at least until the effects wore off. Anything. They’d gladly break laws, if Eros asked sweetly enough. It was the perfect tool in the arsenal of a supervillain. Because of it, the women hired to work at the bank she was robbing were currently helping her make off with the money.

All it took was one little kiss.

Thanks to her mind-warping lipstick, Eros’s heist was going perfectly - or so she thought, until she realized that all of the people she’d brainwashed with her kisses had stopped moving.

“Hey!” she said sharply. “What’s going on?”

There was no reply. Her confusion started to turn to alarm.

“Hey,” Eros repeated. “Can you even-“

She trailed off when she realized what had happened to them. Something was coming. Something big.

Eros wasn’t sure how she knew, exactly. But there was something in the air. Something so palpable it was almost physical. It reminded her of the kind of brimming charge you could sense hanging in the atmosphere before a thunderstorm, only ten times more potent. Whatever that strange energy was, it felt as though it was touching her very soul. And she could sense it coming off her minions in waves.

And then Eros saw her, floating over the nearby rooftops.

Qualia.

Immediately, Eros knew it was over.

Qualia was one of those superheroes every single person had heard of. Every single citizen of Future City would have recognized her. She was a member of the city’s Apex League, the team of its most powerful heroes. Time and time again, she had appeared to defend the city against world-ending threats, and every single time, she’d triumphed. According to some, she was more like a god than a human.

And if she was close enough to put Eros’s minions on ice, it was already too late to run.

“What do we have here?” Qualia asked imperiously as she floated down to stand on the helipad, eyes blazing with green light. “I don’t recognize you, villain. This will be your last misdeed, as well as your first.”

Eros grit her teeth. She was so fucked.

The things Qualia could do made Eros’s lipstick look like child’s play. In simple terms, she was a psychic - a natural telepath and mind controller - but it went deeper than that. Some experts speculated that she was psychic so powerful, she was capable of tapping into and manipulating the collective unconscious that made up reality itself. Others disagreed, but ultimately, that was all academic. There was simply no denying what Qualia was capable of.

Even now, as she stared coldly at Eros across the helipad, she was surrounded by a crackling nova of energy, the same green as her eyes. Pieces of random debris - stones, branches, other small objects - kept levitating off the ground and floating towards her, before being pulled into a kind of orbiting ring that surrounded her, as if Qualia’s sheer psychic presence gave her a gravitational pull.

Eros’s nerve broke. She turned and ran back towards the stairwell.

She made it one whole step.

“No,” Qualia said simply.

As she did, Eros felt her whole body lock up. There was no warning. She simply couldn’t move. She couldn’t even turn to look at Qualia as the superhero walked slowly toward her.

“I’ve partitioned your nervous system from the conscious part of your mind,” the superhero explained calmly. “You’re paralyzed, just like your minions.”

Eros tried to scream. She couldn’t even do that. Her lips, her tongue, her vocal cords - they were all frozen.

“And now that this little farce is over,” Qualia continued, walking a slow circuit around Eros, “let’s see what you’re all about.”

Without any more warning than that, Qualia started to peer into Eros’s mind with her power. Eros wasn’t sure how she knew it was happening. She just knew. Eros felt completely transparent for a moment, before being struck by a chilling sensation that she instinctively associated with being completely and totally perceived. When she tried to focus on it, it felt a little like staring into one of those lights that the doctor used to inspect your eyes.

It sucked.

“Yes, I understand now,” Qualia said dispassionately. “Your name is Rhea Galanis, even though you call yourself Eros. You’re thirty-two years old. You’ve spent the last twelve years working your way up from secretary to administrative assistant - until you decided to turn to a life of crime.” The superhero’s lips curled up into an arrogant smirk. “That was very unwise. Tell me, what did you think was going to happen?”

For a moment, Eros thought Qualia was simply mocking her, but then she found that she could speak again. Control over her throat, her tongue, and her lips had been returned to her.

“I… just…” Eros replied slowly, stumbling over her words. “I… wanted something for myself for a change!”

“Yes, I see now.” Qualia nodded thoughtfully. “You were overworked and under-appreciated, so you decided to start breaking the rules. I’ve seen the same story many, many times.” Her smirk grew. “It’s so very petty.”

There was a chilling arrogance in the superhero’s voice. Eros could see what was happening now. Qualia was enjoying herself. She wasn’t indulging some kind of morbid curiosity. She was simply playing with her food.

“Not that I’m surprised you’re new on the scene,” Qualia continued. “Your ‘costume’ says it all. You… stole the jacket from a high-end clothing store.” Her lips curled a little further upwards. “How charming.”

Eros couldn’t help but blush a little. She’d done her best! Her costume - such as it was - consisted of a striking white leather jacket with a red sports bra underneath, worn with some simple, pragmatic, black combat pants and a black domino mask to conceal her identity. It wasn’t exactly professional, but it was wildly daring compared to Eros’s mousy dress sense in her old life as an administrative assistant. She’d even sewn a massive patch featuring a stylized pair of lips onto the back of her jacket. Branding was important, after all!

Still, the whole affair marked her out as belonging to an entirely different world from Qualia. The superhero had no need for a mask, and she was clad neck-to-toes in a black, tight-fitting bodysuit. It was made out of some kind of futuristic, texture, membrane-like material that rippled with a green glow whenever Qualia called upon her psychic powers. It wasn’t exactly something you could get at a clothing store.

Perhaps the most obnoxious part was how utterly perfect Qualia looked in it. She had a classically curvaceous bombshell body, absolutely none of which was kept hidden by the skin-tight costume, and the blazing green her eyes shone with was the perfect counterpart to her rich, dark, tanned skin. When she floated or lifted something, her long, brunette hair spread out behind her like a mane, making her look utterly, implacably regal.

She might have been Eros’s type, if she wasn’t such an ice queen.

“Insecure?” Qualia let out a high-handed little laugh. “You should be. You’re not suited for this, Eros. It’s just like you thought.”

“Hey!” Eros whined. “Get out of my head!”

“No,” Qualia replied simply. “You chose this. You decided to break the rules, and now you’re going to be punished for it.”

Eros tried to shake her head, although Qualia’s control barely let her move. This couldn’t be the end. Not already. She wanted better! That’s why she’d put herself on this path.

“It doesn’t matter what petty little power you managed to manifest,” Qualia lectured. “You’re nothing compared to heroes like me. Your kind always loses. If not to someone else, then to me.”

There had to be something Eros could do. Anything. But what? Even plotting felt like a fool’s errand when Qualia could see into her thoughts. And how could she ever overcome all the other aspects of Qualia’s power?

She had frozen Eros’s minions without so much as a touch or a word. The gulf in power between her and Eros was beyond measure. Her reputation as a top-tier invincible hero preceded up, but up close, Qualia seemed even more formidable. Between her overwhelming power and her supreme arrogance, she was like a force of nature.

“You should count yourself lucky I was the one to catch you,” Qualia went on. She said it so bluntly. To her, it wasn’t even a boast. It was a fact. “Rather than someone more destructive. Or another supervillain, sweeping in to steal your prize. You should be grateful.”

Eros grit her teeth. There had to be something. Please. Or maybe not. Maybe she should just give up and go quietly. Maybe Qualia was right. Maybe her plan to break bad as a supervillain had never been anything more than a pathetic joke. She wasn’t a criminal. She was a glorified secretary.

“You know, I could reach into your head and fix you, if I wanted to.” Again, Qualia made it sound more like a gospel truth than a threat. She said it the same way Eros might have said that it could rain tomorrow. “I could make you sorry for this. I could make you regret everything. I could make sure you never break the law or hurt anyone ever again. But I won’t, because that isn’t what heroes are supposed to do. Instead, I’ll hand you over to the cops. They’ll give you plenty of time to contemplate your mistake. Your defeat.”

Something inside Eros’s head suddenly snapped. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but something about Qualia’s lecturing reminded her of the way her former boss had always talked to her when she did something wrong. And it pissed her the hell off.

No. She wasn’t going to go quietly. She had an idea.

“My defeat?” Eros forced a half-crazed grin onto her face. Her plan was a ‘maybe’ at best, but it was all she had. “I haven’t lost anything yet, hero.”

Qualia raised an eyebrow disdainfully. “Yes, you have.”

Eros spat onto the ground. “Come a little closer, and I’ll teach you otherwise.”

Her heart started pounding a double rhythm. If Qualia peered into her head again, she’d know exactly what was going on. She’d just have to hope the hero was too arrogant to bother.

“Very well.” Pointedly, Qualia took a big step forward. She looked even more amused than before. “Do your worst.”

She was two steps away now.

“You gotta get closer than that.” Eros sniffed. “Or are you scared?”

Qualia laughed softly. “You understand that you can’t move right now. Don’t you?”

Unafraid, she took another step forward. Just one pace away.

Qualia hadn’t mentioned Eros’s power. Eros had to hope that meant she didn’t know what it was. Eros was obviously small-time. Her power was nothing compared to the hero’s, and she was paralyzed. Why would Qualia even bother to check, when she could knock Eros out with a single thought?

“I’m waiting,” Qualia mocked.

“C’mon,” Eros jeered. She tried to make her grin look even bigger and even stupider. “Closer.”

Qualia was too amused not to indulge her. She pressed close to the would-be supervillain, like they were about to embrace. Eros knew she felt secure in the knowledge that she couldn’t move or raise a fist.

The only thing she could move was her lips.

It was time for the last and dumbest part of Eros’s gambit. She sneered up at Qualia, and mumbled something completely incoherent under her breath.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Instinctively, Qualia moved even closer to try and make out her words. She put her face right next to Eros’s.

So close, Eros was able to stretch forwards, just barely, and kiss her.

At once, Qualia surged backward. She was too experienced a hero not to react instantly. But the damage was already done. Eros rejoiced at the sight of her big, red, bright lipstick stain on the superhero’s tanned cheek, and almost jumped for joy when, a moment later, she was suddenly able to move again.

It was time to have some fun.

***

Qualia recoiled as soon as she felt Eros’s lips touch her, chiding herself sternly as she did. It was unbecoming of an Apex League superhero to allow a third-rate villain to make a fool of her. Fortunately, it was just a kiss. A harmless prank.

Or so she thought until, moments later, she felt her concentration slip.

That never happened. It was impossible. Qualia was a genius. A savant. She could keep a crowd of hundreds dancing to her tune and have it be nothing more than an afterthought as she crushed the psyche of a world-class supervillain. The only time she had ever come close to losing her focus was against a dark mirror version of herself from another dimension.

Compared to foes like that, Eros was nothing more than a bug.

And yet, after a few more seconds, she felt her own thoughts scattered like ships in a storm, and she lost her grip on the villain.

Qualia blinked. She shook her head. She tried to recenter herself. This was impossible.

“What… did you do?” she said slowly.

Eros was stretching languidly, enjoying her brief moment of freedom. As Qualia spoke, her face lit up in delight.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed. The villain looked like a kid on Christmas. “It’s actually working? Oh my god.”

Qualia closed her eyes. This was a momentary lapse. Nothing more.

“I can’t believe it!” Eros squealed. “I wasn’t sure… I mean, according to the research documents, it all depends on willpower. Mental resilience. I thought for sure, someone like you…”

Qualia opened her eyes again. She needed to figure this out. For the first time, she deigned to look properly at Eros’s minions. She could still hold them in place, at least. A sinking feeling developed in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the lipstick marks on their faces.

“What have you done to me?” the hero demanded.

“Oh, now you’re real curious about my power, huh?” Eros laughed. “Well, let me explain. It’s my lipstick. I kiss you, and it makes you fall in love with me.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Qualia scoffed. “You can’t just… you… you can’t…”

She trailed off. She had just noticed something that suddenly seemed incredibly important to her.

Eros was really, really pretty.

Qualia tried to pinch herself. So what if she was pretty? Why would she even notice that right now? It didn’t matter.

Except, it felt like it did.

“Wait,” Eros said, pausing. “Have you ever been through anything like this before? Ever been captured and brainwashed? Hypnotized? Drugged?”

“O-of course not!” Qualia scoffed. “No villain has ever got the better of me! I’d never let them, um, even so much as try to… or, um drink something, without, um… I mean, I don’t even drink!”

She glanced down. Qualia kept getting tongue-tied and tripping over her words. Why?

“Oh my god!” Eros was practically delirious with glee. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s hilarious! I can’t believe this is the closest anyone’s ever come to defeating the legendary Qualia.”

“What are you t-talking about?” Qualia’s cheeks were starting to grow hot.

“Don’t you see?” Eros gloated. “You’ve always kept danger at arm’s reach with your power. Behind that, you’ve got no defenses. No resistance. You don’t even drink. Gotta keep a clear head, am I right?” She took a step closer and leered eagerly at Qualia. “You might be one of the most powerful superheroes in the world, but you’re also the single most susceptible person I’ve ever met.”

A cold shiver raced down Qualia’s spine, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of Eros’s words or because - as much as she was trying not to think about it - the closer the villain, the more overwhelming her beauty became.

‘Beautiful’ really was the only fitting word, Qualia unwillingly decided. She was having trouble taking her eyes off the supervillain, even though when she had first arrived she had barely bothered to look at her. Eros had seemed pretty ordinary, physically. But now, everything about her was enchanting.

The way Eros’s short, curly, coiffed hair sat atop her head like a crown. The way her vibrant lipstick made her perfect lips pop. The dazzling blue of her eyes behind her mask, and the way her costume left her stomach teasingly on display. It was all breathtaking.

Qualia’s calling as a hero didn’t leave much time for romance. She’d never spent much time thinking about her ‘type’ - but now she knew. This was it. Eros was exactly her type.

Which was strange, because Qualia had always considered herself straight. But even so, she couldn’t bring herself to question it.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Eros commented. “It feels pretty good, right? Falling in love?”

That remark was like a bucket of cold water dropped over Qualia’s head. Right. The lipstick. She needed to remember.

However much she wanted to get lost in Eros’s eyes…

Qualia made a fresh attempt to focus. There was no denying Eros’s lipstick was affecting her. Qualia needed to subdue the villain while she was still in her right mind. If she couldn’t use her power, she’d use her fists. The superhero clenched them as tight as she could.

And then, as she looked at Eros once more, let them fall to her sides.

What was she going to do? Put a bruise on Eros’s pretty cheek? No way. She couldn’t bring herself to throw a punch. It would be like defacing a work of art.

“I’m curious,” Eros piped up. She was watching Qualia intently. “How do you feel about me? You know, you said some very, very mean things earlier.”

She affected a pout. It was so cute it made Qualia sigh. But her mood instantly soured when she remembered the way she’d spoken to Eros earlier.

“O-of course I do!” Qualia replied half-heartedly. “You’re a… a criminal. A villain!”

Still, Qualia couldn’t help but regret her words. What if she’d actually hurt Eros’s feelings?

The superhero blinked. There was no way she’d ever care about something like that. Was there?

“Are you sure?” Eros pressed. “Really? That’s all I mean to you?”

“I…” Qualia said in an uncertain, strangled voice. “Y-you’re…”

So many embarrassing professions of admiration were on the top of her tongue. And moreover, she had to fight down the urge to apologize for everything she’d said before.

Why did she feel so terrible about it? Was it the lipstick? How could Qualia be sure?

No. No, of course not. She wasn’t falling in love. That was ridiculous. She couldn’t accept that she’d be so easily influenced. It was just that, she’d been so blunt and needlessly cruel. Boorish, even. It was embarrassing. Mortifying.

And there was nothing wrong with the fact that she found Eros so beautiful, either! It was just a fact. Qualia was simply acknowledging it. Only a fool wouldn’t have admitted that she was one of the most perfectly divine creatures ever to have walked the Earth, and only someone with no taste whatsoever wouldn’t have found themselves thinking about how much they wanted to hold her hand, and embrace her, and-

Qualia groaned and buried her head into her hands. What was happening to her?

“Hey, don’t worry about it too much.” Eros laughed. “But do you wanna know what I think of you?”

Qualia looked up with humiliating eagerness. Now that it was being suggested, she realized she wanted that desperately. It was all-important.

Eros leaned in, wearing a slightly cruel smile that, to Qualia, did nothing but enhance her beauty. “Actually, I think you’re really pretty.”

Immediately, Qualia’s face lit up in a red-hot blush, and she could barely hear her stammering reply over the sound of her pounding heartbeat. “Y-y-you do?”

“Of course!” Eros confirmed. “You’re so cute, Qualia.”

Qualia’s blush deepened and her mind started to race. Why would Eros say that? Was the supervillain messing with her? Lying to her? No. There was no way Eros would do something like that, she decided. Eros simply wasn’t that kind of person.

Then… did she mean it? Really? It was almost too good to be true. Qualia struggled to imagine that the vision of beauty standing before her would even notice a girl like her. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. And yet, the mere thought of it had butterflies filling her stomach.

After a few moments of torturous mental gymnastics, Qualia could no longer bring herself to meet Eros’s gaze. She was a blushing, stammering mess. She felt like a schoolgirl.

“Oh my god!” Eros laughed again. Qualia was keenly aware of the villain’s gaze. It kept making her blush anew. “I’ve seen ‘down bad’ before, don’t get me wrong. But this is something else! Wait… is this the first time you’ve ever been in love?”

Qualia’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t answer that! This was the first time they’d ever met. Qualia didn’t know much about romance, but she felt sure that confessing her feelings right away would be coming on way too strong. Weren’t you supposed to play it cool for a while? She was sure she’d heard that somewhere.

“I-I-I! Um!” she blurted out, tongue-tied. “I mean um… I guess… I guess I’ve never really, um, dated?”

Immediately, Qualia paled. Why had she said that? She risked a glance at Eros. Would she think it was lame, or cool? Surely the former. Who, at her age, hadn’t even dated? Qualia was crestfallen.

Eros giggled at her, smiling. “Wow. Maybe I’ll get to be your lucky first.”

Qualia had fought insane pyrokinetics and gone to Hell itself to battle demons, but her face had never felt as hot as it did now. She could tell Eros was teasing her, of course, but maybe that wasn’t so bad. She was interested, wasn’t she? That was the most important thing. And besides, even the teasing was starting to feel pretty amazing.

At that moment, Qualia realized she’d been forgetting something. The lipstick. All of this, everything she was feeling, was down to Eros’s lipstick.

Only… Qualia wasn’t so sure of that anymore. Everything she was starting to feel for Eros was just so real. So important. Surely it couldn’t be explained away so easily. It reminded Qualia of when people tried to insist that love was ‘just a chemical reaction’. Admittedly, Qualia had always been of that mindset. But now it seemed so foolish. So cynical. So lacking in poetry.

Suddenly, it occurred to Qualia that maybe she should try to write Eros a poem.

"Hey Qualia,” Eros piped up, grinning. “Since we’re getting to know each other, how about you tell me your name?”

Qualia froze at once. She couldn’t. She shouldn’t. For a hero like her, revealing her identity was an unspeakable taboo. It exposed her, and all those close to her, to unspeakable dangers.

And yet, she yearned to answer.

“I…” she struggled. “I’m… we’re not, um, supposed, um…”

“C’mon. Please?” Eros pouted again. “I thought we were getting to know each other! And besides, you know my name. It’s only fair.”

Qualia was no match for that pout. “S-Sophia,” she said, before she could think better of it.

“Sophia!” Eros repeated, delighted. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.”

Qualia thought she was going to pass out from sheer joy. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer.

“So, Sophia,” Eros continued. Just hearing her say her name made Qualia bite her lip girlishly. “Wanna help me haul this stolen money out of here?”

The superhero blinked. Hearing that brought her back to herself, a little. It was a patently absurd proposal. She was one of the greatest heroes in the world. A powerful and righteous defender of everything lawful and good. She couldn’t possibly help a petty crook carry out a bank heist.

But… could she really say ‘no’ to Eros?

“T-that’s…” Qualia struggled. “I… well… you know… I’m a hero.”

“Oh, sure,” Eros replied dismissively. Her smile didn’t budge. “It’s just, I thought maybe we could be partners.”

Partners.

That word hit Qualia like a lightning bolt.

“P-p-p-partners?” she stammered. She couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing. “Like…?”

Eros kept her hanging for just a moment. “Partners in crime,” she answered. “Or perhaps, you know…”

That ‘you know…’ meant everything to the lovestruck superhero. Her face kept twitching, threatening to break out into a nervous, adoring, smile. But even so, Qualia held back. If she agreed, she’d lose everything. Her status. Her reputation. Her pride. It would all be gone, and she’d never get it back.

“L-look, um, Eros,” she said slowly. “It’s not that I don’t want to be, um, p… it’s just… well I… I mean, people would… maybe t-there’s something else?”

She lapsed into silence. Qualia had never been so on edge as she was waiting for Eros to respond. Somehow, more than her reputation or her pride, she found herself worrying about whether or not Eros would think less of her now.

After several seconds of awkwardness, Eros just shrugged. It was devastating. “Well, OK. If that’s really how you feel…”

Then, she did the worst thing she could have: she turned away.

Qualia tried to hold firm, but after Eros made it just two steps, her will broke. She couldn’t handle this.

“W-wait!” the prideful hero cried out.

Eros paused and turned back. “Yeah?”

“I…” Qualia took a moment to contemplate everything she was about to throw away. But ultimately, none of that had ever made her feel the way Eros made her feel. What was she fighting for, if not love? What was more important? “I want to be your p-partner.”

“I see.” Eros folded her arms and smirked. Clearly, she’d expected nothing less. That made perfect sense to Qualia. Eros was so smart. “But you know I’m a villain, right? And you’re a hero?”

That gave Qualia pause, but she immediately found herself rationalizing. It was strange, sure, but heroes going bad was far from unheard of. Maybe there was a good reason for it. And suddenly, being a villain had started to seem kind of cool. If Eros was doing it, it had to be cool.

If Qualia became a villain, maybe Eros would think she was cool too.

The very thought made Qualia want to squeal.

“W-well, um,” she said nervously. “If we’re p-partners, then I’d be a villain too, right? S-so that’s fine.”

“That’s true,” Eros replied.

She sounded pleased. Her approval made Qualia’s whole body hum with joy. It felt better than saving people ever had. Her pride and her reputation had been important to her, yes. But maybe, deep down, she’d always been a romantic at heart. Maybe there had always been a little hole in her heart, waiting to be filled. Maybe she’d always been pining for that perfect connection.

How could she let it slip through her fingers, just for the sake of a little pride?

“Although,” Eros added, “if we’re partners, I think it’s only fair that I’m the senior partner. Right?”

“Of course!” Qualia agreed instantly. She wouldn’t dream of having it any other way. Eros had been a villain first. It only stood to reason that she’d be in charge.

The fact that this was Eros’s first big act of villainy failed to register with her. Neither did the fact that her power was so much stronger.

“Great!” Eros held out her hand. “Shall we shake on it?”

Qualia blushed yet again. She was going to get to hold her crush’s hand. She couldn’t believe her luck. She tried to surreptitiously brush her own hand off on her thigh. She didn’t want it to be too hot or too sweaty. She didn’t want to look like a nervous, blushing virgin in front of her crush. Even so, as they shook, she couldn’t keep her hand from shaking. And she let out a gasp when Eros abruptly pulled her closer.

“Actually,” Eros said, smirking. “You like me, right?

“Yes.” Qualia was too disarmed by the sudden gesture to lie.

“And you think I’m pretty?”

“God, yes,” the superhero whimpered.

“In that case, do you want to kiss?” Eros’s eyes were shining with the thrill of victory. “Since we’re maybe going to be more than just partners in crime.”

Qualia forgot to breathe. She certainly forgot to play it cool. She just nodded with breathless eagerness.

“Great.” Eros giggled. “Then go ahead and kiss me.”

Qualia looked at Eros’s perfect lips, still drenched in that bright red, mind-warping lipstick.

She didn’t even hesitate. She kissed Eros as fiercely and passionately as she could, smearing the villain’s lipstick all over her own lips in the process. The whole time, Qualia was blushing fiercely. She didn’t have a lot of experience with kissing. She wasn’t sure if she was doing it right. But now, all her nerves were blown away by giddy jubilation.

She couldn’t believe this wasn’t a dream. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was.

“Wow,” Eros giggled, as they broke the kiss. “You’re an eager one, huh? Although your technique could use a little work. Who knew heroes didn’t get laid?”

Too love-drunk to be embarrassed, Qualia felt like she was going to faint as the second dose of the lipstick took hold of her. When she looked at Eros, it was almost like the villain was shrouded in a heady, pink glow.

“Well, fortunately, I’ll have plenty of time to teach you,” Eros mused. “Maybe we’ll change your costume too. I like that idea. And… huh. Did your eyes just…”

“Huh?” Qualia tilted her head.

“Never mind,” Eros decided. “Let’s get out of here - you and me both, babe.”

Qualia giggled wildly and took Eros’s hand. She summoned up her power and used it to lift both of them up into the air, along with all of Eros’s ill-gotten gains. And then, without a single regret, she flew both of them off into the sky, and left her life as a superhero behind.

***

Starfrost grunted in pain as she was lifted into the air and thrown bodily through the solid brick wall of a nearby building. Even for a superhero like her, that was going to leave some bruises. It was fear, though, rather than pain that was starting to grip the statuesque heroine.

So this was what it was like to go up against Qualia.

A couple of weeks ago, reports had started coming in that Qualia had switched sides and become a villain. Starfrost hadn’t believed it, of course. She’d only met the psychic a few times - Qualia was definitely a league or two above Starfrost, in terms of power and prestige - but that had been enough for her to know that Qualia was morally upstanding to a fault, and far too powerful to succumb to any kind of corruption.

She had been so, so wrong.

Psychic power crackled around Qualia as she stepped through the hole Starfrost had left in the side of the building. Without so much as lifting a finger, she seized Starfrost in her mental grip and paralyzed her. A chill ran through Starfrost.

What the hell had happened to Qualia?

There was no mistaking that this was the real deal, but Qualia had undergone some shocking changes. The most obvious was her costume. Her traditional sleek, high-tech jumpsuit had been trimmed down to nothing more than a bikini, leaving a mouth-watering amount of skin and curves on display.

Ominously, her new costume revealed that all over her body, Qualia was covered with bright red lipstick marks.

Her eyes had changed, too. Normally, when she used her powers, Qualia’s eyes glowed with her signature, psychic green. Not anymore. Now, they were red - the same red as all that lipstick she was covered with.

But to Starfrost, the biggest change of all was in the heroine’s face. Starfrost had always known Qualia to be stern and calm, and perhaps a little arrogant. There was no longer any trace of that. Instead, she wore a big, joyful, unnatural smile that reflected the same placid happiness she could see in the superhero’s eyes. The happy, tranquil expression was completely out of place on Qualia. It was obvious someone was messing with her head.

“Hey,” called an unfamiliar voice. “You got her?”

“Yes, my darling!” Qualia called back brightly. Her smile seemed, if anything, to grow even wider.

Starfrost frowned.

Someone else entered through the hole in the wall. After a moment, Starfrost recognized them. It was Eros - apparently a new villain on the scene, and an associate of the corrupted Qualia. Starfrost hadn’t thought much of her, but now she couldn’t help but notice that the lipstick on Eros’s lips matched the lipstick planted all over Qualia’s body.

“What did you do to her?” Starfrost demanded.

Eros just laughed. “I’d explain, but in a few moments, you won’t really care. Suffice it to say, she’s had a change of heart.”

Starfrost’s blood ran cold. “And… what are you going to do to me?”

“Well, it’s been going great between me and Qualia,” Eros explained theatrically. She sounded half-crazed with power. “She's such a sweetheart. But I don’t think I’m really a one-woman type of girl, you know? So we’ve decided to expand our relationship a little. You don’t mind, do you, Sophia?”

Qualia shook her head and giggled. “Not at all! Whatever you need, my love.”

Starfrost’s dread was mounting. She tried her hardest to move, but all her superhuman strength was worth nothing when Qualia was in her head.

“In fact, she even offered to help wingman for me!” Eros exclaimed theatrically. “Isn’t that sweet? She’s such a wonderful partner. And soon, you will be too. Would you mind, babe?”

“Of course!”

Qualia looked positively rapturous at the petty villain’s praise, but then she focused as she turned her attention to Starfrost. Her eyes started to glow, and pieces of debris started to lift into the air around her.

Starfrost shuddered as she felt the former superhero break her mind wide open, and replace all her deepest convictions with nothing but true love.