All Superior Girl could recall were the bright green lights and the sudden incapacitating weakness. The thug approached, she felt the surprising sting of a needle piercing her flesh and then it was lights out.
Her head ringing too much to dare open her eyes; she assessed her situation in the dark. She was clearly between the sheets of a bed of some kind. It was firm, yet comfortable and very warm, it felt like!
She sat up and opened her eyes. The blanket and sheet fell away revealing the fact that she had indeed been stripped naked by person or persons unknown. This was a tremendous shock for the lithe young superheroine. Not because of modesty, which was a human construct and not part of the psychological makeup of her people. No, the shock came from the realization that she had been rendered vulnerable enough for an adversary to strip her. Only her most cagey adversaries had even come close to doing that. For one to succeed, he must be quite canny indeed!
Her tummy rumbled. Hunger pains? How long had she been out? She looked closely on the chair by the bed, an outfit was laid out. The trim blonde ignored the raging bongo beat in her head and rose from the bed. Designer jeans, sleeveless, ribbed silk blouse, red bikini type knickers, darling little sandals. Everything was just her size. Clearly, the lack of a brassiere was not an oversight. Superior Girl, the erstwhile Cara Kendrick, donned the clothes provided.
"Now to make my escape." She said the vastness about her. She followed the sunlight streaming through the windows to find a small balcony and an astonishing view. She was not in Major City any longer. Far below was a beach of white sand with a pinkish tinge and a turquoise sea. Superior Girl deduced that she was in the Caribbean someplace, perhaps Bermuda.
She gazed up at earth's yellow sun. After a few moments, an astonishing thought occurred to her, she was not soaking up energy from Sol! Earth's sun always had amazing restorative power for her alien physiognomy. By now, her headache and hunger pains should have been obliterated. Earth's sun made her Superior Girl. It made her invincible! At least it had until now. She tried to summon the ability to fly, but for some reason, could not. With a soul shattering conviction, the beautiful athletic blonde knew that flinging herself off the balcony in attempt to fly would only result in her plummeting to earth like Icarus. Still, the sun provided no kick, no sustenance. She attempted to use her X-ray vision, her super hearing, her super breath; all failed, she had only the senses of a normal, mortal human female! Superior Girl's greatest fear had been realized. Her powers had been stolen from her!
As she was contemplating this inexplicable turn of events, she heard a polite cough. She turned to see a butler in full livery.
"The master invites you to tea, Miss."
"Tell him to get stuffed!"
"The master will explain, a bit, about your current condition."
"Well, in that case, take me to your leader."
She was led to a balcony on the opposite side of the huge mansion. This one was quite expansive, and the view was even more breathtaking. The table was set with tea, scones, and jam. The man at the table stood as Superior Girl entered. He was tall, physically fit, and rather handsome for an older man, the greying at his temples gave him an air of distinction and authority. Superior Girl mused that if this man were a college professor, she would trust him implicitly. But he wasn't. He was her kidnapper, her assailant!
"Good morning," he stated in a mellifluous voice, "I trust you slept well."
She shot him the stink eye. "What have you done to me!" she raged.
"In due time, young lady, in due time." He gestured for her to take her seat. Reluctantly she settled herself opposite him. The scones smelled especially yummy; her stomach rumbled once more.
"Any lingering effects? Headache?"
A nodded response.
"Take these." He placed a pair of tablets in front of her.
"What are these?"
"Tylenol."
"Human remedies don't work on me."
"Trust me, fair one."
What could it hurt? Even the deadliest human poisons passed harmlessly through her system with no aftereffects. She swallowed the tablets with a sip of quite delicious tea.
There was a pause.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Eighteen degrees, eighteen minutes, zero seconds North. Sixty-four degrees forty-nine minutes thirty seconds West to be precise."
She glared at him.
"My private island. You've been my guest for a few days now."
"Are you the pervert who undressed me?"
"Well, I simply could not delegate that responsibility!, now could I" he replied with a wink and a leer.
For a span of time, the diverted superheroine focused on devouring a scone with butter and jam. The flavors lit up her tastebuds in a way mortal food rarely did. She was quite piggish, devouring a second and third scone in rapid order.
"You have an appetite. That is good. How's your headache?"
"Better. Care to tell me who you are and what this is all about?"
"Certainly, Ms. Kendrick."
Her mouth fell open in a wide "O," how did he deduce her secret identity?
As if reading her mind, "Your fingerprints, darling and a bit of youthful indiscretion. Remember when you were sixteen and applied to be a child's aid at the Major City orphanage? You obeyed the law and placed your fingerprints on file with the state to see if you had a record as a child abuser. Of course, at the time, you had not yet come to full maturity and former invincibility and had no idea that one day you would be a crime fighter adored by millions. Those prints are still on file on an obscure server in Major City even though they were supposed to be purged years ago. Leave it to bureaucracy to leave you in a lurch! What sets me apart from your other "admirers'" is that I leave no stone unturned in my quest to solve puzzles."
She placed her hands on her lap.
"Former invincibility?"
"Ah, you were paying attention. Yes. To put it simply, I've given you a rare gift, I've essentially rendered you mortal. There are a few features I added, your slim, trim, and so enchanting physique will remain so damned alluring until you are at least sixty-five, then everything will slowly start to sag. You'll be the sexiest cougar there ever was. You'll be bedding college kids young enough to be your grandsons and they won't have a clue!"
He smirked. She wanted to punch him. Hard.
