There's a flavor of hero and villain whump that just hits the spot for me.
What if hero and villain are always neck and neck, fighting as the city's symbol of good and evil. What if their whole life is dedicated for that, to uphold their very role in society, earning screams and gasps, cheer and fear.
They're very loyal to their mentors, superhero and supervillain. Which later become their achilles heels when superhero and supervillain reveal themselves as who they are. Suddenly superhero and supervillain are not sworn enemies like their image, but rather undercover agents working for the government to brainwash some people to become their weapons.
And so, the world as they know collapse when superhero and supervillain bring hero and villain into the government secret base. Suddenly, it's no longer the noise of their engines and guns (and maybe superpowers). Suddenly, it's their screams ringing through the halls as they get injected with god knows what and tortured day and night.
As time goes on, they're no longer sworn enemies, but just two whumpees desperately leaning on each other to survive. Betrayal is bitter as bile when the hands of their mentor also join in on leaving wound and scars all over their bodies, but they swear to not hurt each other, so they at least have each other.
And so, they cling in the corner of the cell, tryung to find any bit of reprieve in each other's arms. If they're not allowed the sweet relief of death, at least they're not alone.