The Flasher

Ella Thawt was new to the supervillain game, but she loved it. Once she was just a lowley intern at Jupiter Laboritories, trying to make ends meet while following her dreams, but fate had other things in mind for her. She was exposed to an experimental agent designed to increase an object's endurance and capacity for motion. Just a few months after her accident left her in a coma, she discovered that she had been blessed with super speed.

On the surface, it would seem like a textbook superhero origin story straight out of the comics. But Ella was no superhero, and had no interest in helping people. To her, this power gave her the chance to get back at a world that had shunned and mistreated her, and she wasn't going to pass that up. Using her access to the labs, she made herself a suit that could withstand massive amounts of friction (yellow, of course) and started on her criminal career.

She started pretty small, robbing convenience stores and the like, but soon moved up to banks and armored trucks. Tales of a yellow lightning bolt making off with millions in stolen goods spread throughout the city, turning Ella into a living urban legend.

This on its own would be enough to grab the Gentleman's attention, but there was one element of Ella's criminal streak that made her the jdeal partner for him. She was, at the end of the day, a voyeur and a pervert, and would take every opportunity to explore her more... risque urges during her crimes. Narry a woman escaped from one of her robberies with her outfit in one piece. The multitude of naked women left at the scenes of her crimes had been the inspiration for her nickname: The Flasher.

Ella had just finished one of her successful exploits and was looking forward to a quiet evening of binging Criminal Minds (at 16x speed, of course). As she entered her apartment, she immediately felt that something was wrong. Zipping over to the light switch, she illuminated the room and saw a man dressed in an exquisite black suit sitting in her new recliner, sipping tea. "Ah, Miss Thawt," the Gentleman said, "I'm glad you've arrived."

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?"

"An excellent question, and one where I believe you'll like the answer." He turned to face her. "I'm in need of your skills, Miss Thawt. Or would you prefer I call you Flasher?" Ella stuttered, unsure of what to say, so the Gentleman continued. "Please don't bother denying it, I managed to track you down, after all. I'd much appreciate it if we kept this brief. I assure you this will be very lucrative for both of us."

Ella, finally getting ahold of herself, zipped over and grabbed the intruder by the shirt collar. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not doing jack for someone who breaks into my home and starts talking down to me."

The Gentleman smiled. "Quite a quick temper. I supposed I should have expected that. But I still think you should listen to me. Otherwise you and I won't be the only ones privy to your little secret."

Ella glared at him but slowly put him down. "That's better." He said, straightening his tie. "Now, as for my name, you can call me Gentleman. I've got somewhat of a reputation."

"Yeah, as a pervert."

"I'd prefer not to use that word. It's rather vulgar. I'm a performance artist as much as I'm a criminal mastermind."

"And your performance is stripping girls naked?"

"Exactly, which is why I'm here. You and I seem to have similar interests in that regard. But more importantly, our skillsets seem perfect for a team effort." He handed Ella a newspaper article on the museum gala. "In short, I want to rob this place, but I can't do it alone. I would very much like your assistance."

"Why should I help you? What do I get out of this? I don't even know you."

"Perhaps not, but my target isn't the only one up for grabs. I believe you're familiar with Katherine von Strapp?" Ella's eyes lit up. "She's going to be working there during the gala, and given your history, I think you'd want nothing more than to humiliate her in front of as many people as possible."

Ella smiled. Taking the wind out of von Strapp's sails was one of her biggest dreams as a villain. She couldn't pass up an opportunity like that. "What do you need me to do?"