Punching people is always useful in this line of work; of course, Ortega thinks the same. He was always a scrapper, preferring hand to hand to deliver his debilitating electrical charges. It must have only been chance that you hadn't run into each other before in the gym, most likely because you like early mornings and he is a slow riser.
It was weird to interact with him in another body, so you decided to…
Ortega was always the flirty type, so this time you decided to respond in kind. At least that will keep him distracted, so hopefully he will not dig too much into your business.
You didn't want to risk anything now that you were getting so close to your debut as a villain. Ortega has messed you up enough for one lifetime. Maybe it is his fault that the nightmares are returning. The nightmares of your "death" seven years ago. The Heartbreak incident.
You were not an official Ranger, but you worked close enough with them that you were called in to help when a telepathic emergency happened. Something was going wrong, causing people to go mad and kill themselves. The LDPD had evacuated the area around the building, and you went in with the rest of the chosen team. Ortega, being immune to telepathy. Steel, his armor equipped with mobile dampeners to protect himself and the rest of you from the onslaught. Anathema, another Ranger, and your close friend. He could generate acid, but above all, was invulnerable to anything trying to attack him. And then you, the only telepath in the group, and the one who might have a hope of figuring out what was happening.