The sun was setting over the abandoned construction site, painting the concrete skeleton in brilliant oranges and purples. The five friends were exhausted, covered in dust, but they were smiling. For the first time since the accident, the fear was replaced by a sense of hope and control.
"See?" Krishna said, his voice filled with pride as he looked at his friends. "This is not a curse. It's a gift. We just have to learn how to use it. Together."
As they were about to leave, Simran, who had been quiet for a moment while she worked on her laptop, turned to them. A brilliant, excited spark was in her eyes.
"I've been thinking," she said, her voice buzzing with energy. "I've been running analyses and simulations. If we're going to do this... if we're going to practice... and maybe, one day, do more with these powers... we can't just be us. We need to be something else. We need to be a team. And a team needs a uniform."
The other girls and Krishna looked at her, intrigued. Simran smiled and turned her laptop screen towards them. On the glowing screen were four detailed, professional-looking schematics for their suits.
The first was for Mahira, code-named Rukhsar. It was a sleek, seamless bodysuit in a dark indigo, designed with a special "memory fabric" that would adapt to her shapeshifting. Its helmet had a polished black faceplate sculpted into an elegant, mysterious version of her own face. Mahira stared, speechless. It was the suit of a ghost, a spy.
The next was for Gunjan, code-named Pritha. The design was a stunning, seamless bodysuit of deep indigo, but the helmet was the main feature. It had no sculpted face, only two slits that glowed with a powerful white light for eyes. Simran explained that the entire suit was a reactive polymer, designed to act as a conduit for her power, allowing her to manifest the properties of materials across her entire body. It was sleek and otherworldly.
The third was for Rosy, code-named Judith. The design, based on an image Rosy loved, was a powerful suit of articulated armor in a bold saffron-red and black. The helmet was a full-face design, with a golden hand palm on the forehead. It was the armor of a true warrior. Rosy let out a whoop of excitement. "Yes! Now that's what I'm talking about!"
The last was Simran's own, Anura. It was a pristine white, high-tech suit with a helmet whose faceplate was a glowing blue screen, designed to project a hologram of her face while displaying data.
"These are incredible, Simran," Krishna said, genuinely impressed. But Rosy was frowning.
"Wait, there are only four," she said. "Where's Krishna's suit?"
Simran's excited expression softened. She looked at Krishna with concern. "I... I didn't design one for you, Krishna."
"Why not?" Mahira asked, looking worried.
"Because it's too dangerous," Simran said, her voice firm. "We have powers. We can take a hit. Krishna is... he's still normal. I can't design a suit that would put him on the front lines with us. If you got hurt..." she trailed off.
The other girls nodded in agreement. Their shared mission was to protect each other, and that included protecting Krishna most of all.
Krishna looked at their worried faces. He put on a calm smile. "She's right," he said. "You are the power of this team. You are the 'Shakti'. My job is to be the plan. I'm the one who stands back and sees the whole picture. I don't need a suit for that. My job is to make sure you use your powers correctly and safely. I will be your leader, not your soldier."
His words settled over them, full of a wisdom that made them feel safe. He was right. That was his role.
The next day, it was time to return to their normal lives. Their week of leave was over, and they had to present their B.Tech Electronics project. They stood before their professor, the small, solar-powered irrigation sensor they had finished at Krishna's house sitting on the table before them.
The presentation went flawlessly. They moved like a well-oiled machine. Krishna gave the introduction, outlining the project's goals. Simran then took over, explaining the complex circuit theory with an ease that amazed the professor. Gunjan detailed the delicate hardware construction, Mahira presented the user-friendly interface with charisma, and Rosy concluded by explaining the durable, practical casing she had helped design. They answered every question perfectly. It was a stunning display of teamwork, and they received the highest marks in the class.
To celebrate, they all headed to the college sports ground. "All that brain work has me itching for a real challenge," Rosy declared, picking up a kabaddi tag. "Let's play."
It was a friendly game: Rosy and Mahira, the team of power and agility, against Simran, Gunjan, and Krishna.
From the start, it was clear that Rosy and Mahira were the stronger pair. But Krishna's team had a secret weapon: his mind. He wasn't the fastest or strongest, but he saw the game differently. He saw patterns. He saw the "story" of the match.
He saw Rosy preparing for a powerful, direct raid. It was her signature move. "Simran, fake left," Krishna said quietly. "Gunjan, hold your ground. Wait for my signal."
Rosy charged, a blur of motion heading straight for Simran. As predicted, Simran feinted, and Rosy changed direction, heading for what she thought was the weaker link: Gunjan.
"Now!" Krishna commanded.
Just as Rosy lunged, Gunjan dropped into a low, solid stance, while Simran moved with surprising speed to cut off Rosy's path back to her side. They had formed a perfect, inescapable trap. Rosy was tagged out.
"How did you know I was going to do that?" she asked later, amazed.
Krishna just smiled. "I saw the pattern."
He continued to direct his team with quiet commands and hand signals. He anticipated Mahira's tricky, unpredictable moves, and at a crucial moment, he even acted as bait himself, drawing both Mahira and Rosy towards him and allowing Simran to slip past them to win the game.
They all collapsed on the grass, laughing and out of breath. "Okay, I get it," Rosy said, looking at Krishna with a new level of respect. "You definitely don't need super strength to be a leader."
As they walked home, the thrill of their victory in the game and the classroom made them feel more like a real team than ever before.
"That was great teamwork today," Krishna said. "But for what's coming next, we need more than just our skills. We need the right equipment." He looked at Simran. "Those suits. What do we need to make them a reality?"
Simran's face lit up. She pulled out her tablet and brought up a long, complex list of materials and components.
"It won't be easy," she said, her voice serious. "This isn't just cloth. For the base layer, we need a carbon-polymer weave. For Judith's armor," she said, using Rosy's code name with a smile, "we need a reactive kinetic gel that hardens on impact. For Rukhsar's suit," she nodded to Mahira, "I need a memory-plastic filament. And for my own..."
They stared at the impossible list. These were not things you could buy at the local market. They were expensive and hard to find. For a moment, the energy sagged.
Then Krishna smiled, a look of determination in his eyes. He looked at the list not as a problem, but as a challenge. A mission.
"Okay," he said, his voice full of a new, exciting energy. "So, we have a scavenger hunt." He looked at his team, his friends. "Simran, break down that list. Find us the raw materials. Our first mission is to build our armor."
A new energy sparked between the five of them. This was it. This was the real beginning. The journey to becoming Panch Shakti had truly begun.
[To be continued…]
Support me: vanshbosssrahate@oksbi (UPI ID)
Author: Vansh Rahate
Editor: Vansh Rahate
Story by: Vansh Rahate
Under: Alaukika Studios