A few weeks had passed since the battle with the Earth-Breaker. The city of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar was safe, and the name "Panch Shakti" was now a symbol of hope. For the five friends, it meant a strange new kind of peace. Agent Rao had been true to her word, providing them with support while allowing them their freedom. With no new threats on the horizon, they tried to do the one thing they hadn't done in months: be normal college students.
The annual cultural festival at their engineering institute was the perfect opportunity. For three days, the campus was transformed into a vibrant explosion of color, music, and food. The five friends moved through the happy crowds, determined to enjoy this brief return to their old lives. But they were about to discover that their powers were now a part of them, whether they were in a suit or not.
The first test came at a "Test Your Strength" carnival game. A large, muscular senior student was showing off, swinging the heavy hammer and barely managing to send the puck halfway up the tower.
"Come on, Rosy, you can beat that!" Mahira taunted, nudging her friend forward.
"I don't know," Rosy said, a little nervous. "I might... overdo it."
"Just be gentle," Krishna whispered with a grin.
Rosy stepped up to the platform. She didn't call on the full power of Judith. She just let a tiny, controlled fraction of that super-strength flow into her arms. She swung the hammer in a smooth, easy arc. There was a loud CLANG, and the puck shot up the tower so fast it didn't just ring the bell; it broke it clean off its mount. It flew into the air and landed with a sad clatter on the grass behind the game booth.
Everyone stared in stunned silence. Rosy just gave a sheepish grin. "Oops," she said. "Guess I don't know my own strength."
Later, Mahira was on stage, the star of her drama club's one-act play. In the middle of a critical scene, the supporting actor opposite her froze, having forgotten his lines. Mahira subtly used her power, not to change her face, but to perfectly mimic the commanding stage presence of her favorite Bollywood actor. She delivered her next line with such unexpected power that it shocked the other actor out of his freeze and got the play back on track. She won the "Best Actor" award, and no one could explain how her performance had suddenly become so magnetic.
The five of them were gathered at a food stall when the vendor accidentally dropped a huge, sizzling hot tray of pav bhaji, right in the path of a group of small children. Gunjan, standing closest, reached out. The instant her fingers made contact with the burning hot metal, she absorbed its properties, her hand becoming immune to the heat. She calmly caught the tray, preventing a disaster. "Aren't you burned?!" Krishna asked, worried. Gunjan just looked at her hand, which was perfectly fine. "I guess I just have tough hands," she said quietly.
The final challenge was for Simran. In the festival's e-sports competition, she faced the reigning college champion. Using her super-intellect, she ran thousands of predictive simulations in her head, countering his every move ten steps in advance. She defeated him in record time. "How...?" he stammered in disbelief. Simran just pushed up her glasses and smiled. "I'm a fast learner."
Later that evening, the five friends sat together on a grassy hill, watching the festival's final fireworks display light up the night sky. They were all laughing, recounting the day's secret victories. They felt on top of the world. They were heroes, but for this one night, they were also just friends enjoying a festival.
Krishna watched the colorful explosions reflect in his friends' happy faces. He was proud of them. He saw how easily and naturally their powers were becoming a part of their everyday lives. It was a wonderful thing, but he also knew it was a risk. The more they used them, even in small ways, the higher the chance of being discovered.
[To be continued…]
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Author: Vansh Rahate
Editor: Vansh Rahate
Story by: Vansh Rahate
Under: Alaukika Studios