The premise has to have been done before, but it still fascinated me:
Stories with a villain protagonist who aspired to be a hero are a dime a dozen. I call it the Worm model off of one of the most prominent example. 1.5 of my recent superhero/villain stories features that as a fundamental mechanic, even.
But how many stories are there where there is a hero protagonist who aspires to be a villain?
How many stories are there where a wannabe supervillain accidentally ends up as a superhero (rather than wannabe superhero accidentally ending up a supervillain)?
It can't be zero, buuuuuut, I decided to make one myself.
The protagonist is appropriately powerful for a supervillain--in order to succeed as a supervillain in the setting, you need storybreaker-level powers because you're not only outnumbered (as villains don't really have backstab-free teams and also competition in the form of other storybreaker-level supervillains), but also need to fight against heroes who can have storybreaker-level powers and even if not, you have their powers, and are by virtue of being a villain a criminal who has the entire government hunting you. FBI, CIA, NSA, you get the idea; you're the enemy of everyone, so you need to be strong enough to handle it.
And the protagonist has that level of power, a 5-element system:
Minor control over 'earth', in the form of self-invulnerability: the 'brick' part of Flying Brick, indestructible, who has enhanced (tho very very low by superhuman levels) strength and limitless stamina. (Regen untested due to said indestructibility, but theorized as being limb-regeneration level.)
Some control over 'fire', in creating fireballs.
Decent control over 'electricity', mostly lightning bolts but also minor electromagnetism control, able to attract/repel, boost or interfere with electronics, etc.
Decent control over 'wind'--no ability to summon tornadoes or hurricanes, nor the ability to cut using wind, but the full 'blow you away' aspect of it, with the wind acting essentially as a minor form of telekinesis, able to push things away or pull them closer, able to lift them up or push them down.
...And complete and total, god-tier control over 'water'. Complete and total control over it. Able to create it, able to turn it into gaseous vapor (which he has total control over in this form) or solidified as ice (also total control), able to absorb it, and yes...able to control/remove/implant it anywhere, including from people (so, could instantly kill someone fairly easily).
Yet when making preparations to make his debut as a supervillain...
...He is forced to defend himself, and others, in a way that makes people think he is a hero.
Pragmatic as he is, he thinks of this as an opportunity to infiltrate the heroes, learn everything about them, then betray them, but things end up...a little more complicated than that.
I've already begun to spin the cogs in my head for how this would work; I have a problem with making superhero/supervillain stories for sure.