That's right. Somehow, the Goldfish Poop Gang won. How did this happen? Why did this happen? The shortest and simplest answer is that they got their act together-- really together-- and are now a threat. As to "why", the Author wants to shake the heroes and viewers out of their comfort zone by allowing the bad guys to win round one so the heroes will be forced to get their act together and make their next encounter a truly epic fight. These third string villains undid the Villain Decay that put them at the bottom of the Sorting Algorithm of Villain Threat by going through Training From Hell, using some kind of Upgrade Artifact or Artifact of Doom, or are under the effects of a Villain Override. Another possibility is that they catch the heroes off guard. Maybe Team Harmless Villain was Not