Rewriting history: no Lone Wolf

It was unlucky for Brad that the Lone Wolf's origin story was so widely known in the criminal underworld. In the only encounter with a villainess that he wasn't proud of -- at least, prior to today -- he'd foolishly confessed that he'd gained his werewolf powers after being struck by lightning on Crescent Hill on Halloween two years earlier. He'd been following Rocketgirl, hoping to get an autograph. She hadn't seen him, of course, otherwise she surely would have come to his aid after the lightning strike. But because he was alone, he'd had plenty of time to explore his newfound superpowers that night when the lightning instantly transformed him into a werewolf.

Now in the VR environment, Brad found himself reliving that fateful night. But this time there was no lightning, no thunderstorm at all. It was just a full moon Halloween. Brad lost Rocketgirl's trail and went home. But asleep in bed that night, he transformed into Lone Wolf for the first time.

Outside the anti-gravity chamber, Ms Kyoto cursed. This should have worked; if Brad believed the lightning never struck him, he wouldn't know he'd ever been endowed with superpowers. She pulled Brad's consciousness back into the floating starscape ether while she programmed a variation on the scenario.

Brad found himself following Rocketgirl that Halloween night. This time, it was just like he'd imagined it so many times. It played out just as he'd always hoped it would, as though he'd done it a million times before, could do it in his sleep. She happily gave him an autograph. He went home and went to sleep. And again he transformed into the Lone Wolf.

This was beginning to try Ms Kyoto's patience. She began to wonder whether she needed to go a step further, convince Brad's subconscious that there was no need for a Lone Wolf superhero. She typed the revised program furiously and watched it play out.

Brad followed Rocketgirl on a stormy Halloween night. He called to her. She turned around and, guarded, began walking towards him. Suddenly she sensed a shift in the atmosphere. "Look out!" she cried and speedily ran to push Brad out of the way of a bolt of lightning. They watched as the burned ground smoldered where the lightning had struck -- exactly where Brad had been standing less than a second ago.

"Wow, you saved me!" Brad exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, Rocketgirl. You're the greatest hero the world has ever seen. You're the only hero the world could ever need."

She rolled her eyes. "That's...flattering. I've got work to do." And off she sped, leaving him without an autograph -- and without superpowers. He went home, went to sleep, and slept through the night.

"I've finally done it," Ms Kyoto smirked outside the anti-gravity chamber. "If Lone Wolf was never created, then Lone Wolf is no more. I've got to spread the word to the rest of this city's villains. And I've got to find something fun to do with this useless hunk of a man who used to be the Lone Wolf..."