Vanish/Gepetto

Born with powers of teleportation, Angelo Darabont was raised in a criminal family in New Jersey, and his abilities were used by them for all manner of thievery and vice. Finally striking out on his own and leaving home, he took the name Vanish and started working nationally for hire. On one job in Seattle, where he was working for a villain named Dice and with a crew of other super-criminals, an art theft went bad, and the new Forte team, then about a year old, hit the scene. Dice killed a woman and took others hostage. Having a change of heart when things went bad, Vanish turned against Dice, and helped Forte take him and the rest of the crew down. Convicted for his involvement, Vanish, with Forte speaking on his behalf, got a light sentence and began serving his time at the Pocantico Point villain prison in New Mexico.

The villain called Gepetto was damaged goods from the start, a cold and soulless person with the remarkable ability to take over the minds of others, something he did throughout his life for his own pleasure and to get ahead. He was also able to completely transfer his mind into others and walk around in their skin, though that would leave his body on a near comatose state. Also in the prison for his crimes as a villain, Gepetto found opportunity knocking when an unexpected power outage dropped the inhibitor in his cell, and he entered the mind of his female guard. Only able to be there briefly before the power came back on, he found out she was actually a plant for the domestic terror organization called Mandate, there to be their inside person in the prison. He also found out, through her thoughts, about an upcoming operation of theirs, plans to steal something of great power from a cargo ship in Seattle. He saw a couple of interesting opportunities here, and planted some quick commands in her mind before the power came back up. When the time he'd planned for was just right, she came into his cell and, compelled by the commands, shot him and then turned her weapon on herself, taking her own life. Gepetto was rushed to the infirmary, where his inhibitor collar had to be removed for proper treatment.

As Vanish was led by guards down the hall next to the infirmary, on the way to his parole hearing, just as Gepetto had timed out, Gepetto leapt into the model prisoner's mind. He grabbed a guard's weapon, killed him and another guard, and started punching access codes he'd taken from the woman guard's mind into doors and making his way outside the range of the inhibitor. As soon as he was clear of the field, he used Vanish's powers to teleport away and disappear. While his own body was still in prison, he had Vanish's, and knew that if he stayed long enough in the young man's body, the transformation would become permanent. And considering he'd get to start his life over with a younger, healthier body, and one with teleportation powers, he was all for that.

Convinced that Vanish would never do such a thing, and piecing together the events and realizing Gepetto was the one involved, Forte managed to track the location of the job that Gepetto had put together--to steal the item of power before Mandate could get to it. Wearing a stolen pair of deadly energy gauntlets to augment Vanish's abilities, Gepetto and and a group of pre-hired freelance villains went after the prize, only to find Forte waiting. In the battle, Gepetto was taken out, and his mind returned to his body in the infirmary in New Mexico, while Vanish's mind was freed. Forte cleared Vanish of the breakout and killings, and he was granted parole. Gepetto, meanwhile, after recovering from his gunshot wounds, was found guilty of the murders and now faces a life sentence.