Former superhero Francisca Verdugo recalls how she was captured and transformed from a young man to a sexy woman, and how to the world the hero Condor disappeared and is presumed K.I.A.

January, 2008.

The seat was comfortable, near the window, and right above the wing, just as I liked it. As I looked outside my mind drifted through different worries. The treatment I got from the Airport security was downright humiliating, and almost made me miss the flight. I'm sure these kind of things will happen more and more now.

Letting out a sigh, I looked down at my generous breasts and smiled. This was certainly not the sight I had one year ago or one I would have welcomed back then, at least on my own body, but things have changed. I changed, was changed, so much.

I finally open the folder and stare at the paperwork inside, again... have been doing it for the last week. Everything was in order. Francisca Javiera Verdugo, female. I was still amazed how fast all of it was arranged, and despite how comfortable... heck that's not entirely true. I wasn’t just comfortable being a woman, I fucking loved it now. I couldn't imagine going back to the man I was, even if the changes weren't permanent.

But all this was just the preparation, the easy part. I disappeared for almost a year and now I was going back to Chile, back home to see my parents, to tell them their only son was now their daughter. My hands started to sweat as I imagined every possible bad reaction they could have, and felt the tightness in my stomach, the fear that was gripping me whole. Just telling them that I transitioned was going to be hard enough, but when they ask what I was doing for a full year, telling them I was a camgirl and an escort will not go well either.

My eyes looked outside the window once more, staring at the sky as I reminded myself that this was the only way, that I had to do it. The alternative would be worse, and far more dangerous. How could I sit in front of them, with my long and beautiful well toned legs, smoothing my skirt, adjusting my blouse to not reveal as much cleavage as I usually do, and tell them the truth:

"Mom, dad... a supervillain kidnapped me and tried to turn me into a 'shemale bimbo slut' (her words, not mine) as a revenge cause she blames me for the death of her father... oh and I am... was Condor... the hero."

Well, more of a heroine now - if I decided to go back to it.

***

November, 2006

The night was cold, really damn cold. Despite the costume insulation I could still feel it. The exposed lower part of my face did not help either. But it was a good night so far. Not many crimes that required my immediate attention at the moment, so I could focus on my investigations.

Some working girls were disappearing, and the authorities didn't seem to give a damn. No one questioned how high class escorts were being dragged to the seedy parts of the city and taken from dirty alleyways, when each of them probably earned in a month what I would be lucky to see in a year.

As I surveyed the area from the top of a building, I took the shield from my back. It was a sturdy and thick medieval kite shield, deep blue with a single white star on the center and red borders. Or so it looked like. In fact it was a very special shield, made with lighter and more resistant alloys, able to deflect high energy weapons and almost any ballistic weapon without getting a scratch. It had saved my life more times that I could count, and unlike those comic book characters, you won't ever see me throwing around my best defense. The shield stayed on my left arm or on my back, when I wasn’t expecting trouble.

Once I was sure that the area was clear, I jumped down, using my swingline to control the fall. My knee high black, combat armored boots hit the ground loudly and then I slowly walked towards the nearest wall. Activating the lens enhancers on my mask to check for any clue the police might have missed, I started to carefully inspect every inch of the alley. The last kidnapping was right there, the previous night.

My dark blue and red kevlar uniform created quite a contrast with the old dirty bricks of the building. The legs were split in the middle of my legs, the external part being the red, and continuing upwards, following the same pattern on my chest and then through my underarms, finishing on jet black armored gauntlets. And in the center of my chest, a thick white metallic star, capable of stopping a .50 round.

Raising my right hand to my ear, I started snapping pictures with the micro camera that was inside my mask. The mask left my face, below my nose exposed, and let my unruly brown hair be visible. Unlike most of the other metas around, I was just a normal guy, good physical and martial arts training, and a couple of gadgets. Even then my build was on the lean side, not nearly half as muscular or bulky as the other guys, just well toned and defined muscles on a fairly average build.

As I was taking the pictures I noticed a broken band of leather with metal, and moved closer to inspect it. A collar, a slave collar, and I knew the type. The victim was one of "The Dominatrix" girls. A retired villainess that went semi legit building an empire on the sex trade. Movies, internet pages, magazines and really high class escorts, you name it, and all squeaky clean. I thought the whole thing could have been a vengeance against her, or maybe someone trying to blackmail her to get part of her empire. She used to be and still is very protective of her girls.

Reaching to my utility belt, I grabbed one of my evidence kits and put the collar inside the plastic bag, as I knelt there to make one final sweep with my eyes. Then all things went to hell - I felt the weapon's hammer before it discharged and rolled to cover behind a dumpster, barely avoiding the gunfire.

"Come out here, you pansy! All you costumed freaks are nothing but..."

The thug fell backwards as a small disk broke his nose, right as I started a charge, using my shield for cover. Couldn't help but smile as the bullets bounced after hitting the shield. I saw there were three thugs. One on the floor holding his face, one reloading his gun and the other firing a SMG. Obviously he was the lucky one. I slammed him hard with the shield making him stumble and then hit him as hard as I could with a right hook. I felt how his jaw shattered as he fell unconscious to the ground.

Before the other could aim his gun at me, I turned around and kicked him hard in the middle of his torso, taking all the air from his lungs. One hit and he joined his pal, dreaming.

That left the bloody nosed one. I just calmly took my disk and put it with the other seven on my belt, and then grabbed him by his shirt, forcefully pushing him towards a wall.

"Now you'll be a good thug and tell me who sent you, right?" I smiled, confident. In the four years I had as a costumed crime fighter, or hero if you prefer, I came to be known as a sort of boy scout, using just enough force to stop the criminals and quite patient. Let's face it; my frame was far from imposing at just 5'7'' so I rather talked them over than try to scare them.

The thug looked at me and then at his fallen comrades, before gulping. The fresh blood was soaking my right gauntlet as he seemed to be considering his options. And his nose would be crooked after this night if he didn't go to a good doctor.

"Alright alright... we just got told to kill any 'cape' stupid enough to come here tonight"

That was wrong, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck raising up as the realization sank in. I was being expected - this was a trap and I walked right into it.

The sound of the rocket boots made me turn around immediately as I saw her, in her dark grey and blue armor: Nicole Thomas, Hawker Hunter, the daughter of the previous Condor, the second one... that sadistic bastard who soiled the good name of one of the first Chilean heroes. And she was very much like her father.

"Ah so nice of you to have come tonight..." came the distorted voice from her helmet. “Tonight you'll pay for killing dad and will suffer my vengeance."

Did all villains have to go to some melodramatic posturing school or something? I just got my shield into the best possible covering position when I heard her laugh and then pain... the whole alley was rigged with electric emitters, she was going to electrocute me unless...

And that was the last I remember from that night.