Silence fell, broken only by the crackle of small fires and the distant shouting from the street. The neighbors, having heard and seen the impossible battle, were already on their phones, calling the police and fire brigade.
"He's gone," Rosy panted.
"Damage report?" Krishna asked, scanning the devastation.
"Minimal injuries to us," Simran reported from the garden. "But the house..."
Krishna looked around. His home. Sirens wailed, getting closer. "We need to go. Now." He looked at Simran, who quickly scooped up the glinting fragment of Meteoroid Man.
"Take this," she urged, pressing the heavy, faintly pulsing rock into Krishna's hand. "Get it to headquarters. I need to analyze it. I'll stay here, blend in."
Krishna nodded grimly. "Understood. Rukhsar, Judith, Pritha - with me. Move!"
The four costumed figures melted out the back, using their speed and agility to navigate the rooftops and back alleys, racing back towards the abandoned construction site. Simran quickly composed herself, mussing her hair and clothes, ready to play the part of a terrified survivor.
Minutes later, the four arrived back at the headquarters. Working quickly, they deactivated their suits, the armor dissolving away, leaving them breathless and in their regular clothes. Krishna carefully placed the meteoroid fragment into a secure containment box. "Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go. Act shocked.
Back on Krishna's street...
Krishna and the other three girls walked calmly onto the scene in their normal clothes, joining the growing crowd of onlookers just as more police cars and a fire engine arrived. Their timing was perfect. They projected wide-eyed shock and confusion.
They saw it immediately. The neighbors were clustered together, excitedly telling the police exactly what they saw. "It wasn't a gas leak! It was that rock man! The Meteoroid Man from the news!" one man insisted. "And those heroes! Panch Shakti! They fought him right here!"
And then Krishna saw his mom. Gauri was already there, standing near a police officer, her face pale, her body trembling, staring in utter disbelief at her broken house. She looked lost and completely in shock.
"Mom!" Krishna cried out, pushing through the crowd. He ran to her, pulling her into a tight hug. Gauri clung to him, tears finally starting to flow. Rosy, Mahira, and Gunjan rushed over, their faces perfect masks of horror and concern, surrounding Gauri with support.
"Gauri Aunty! What happened?!" Rosy asked, playing her part.
It was chaos. The police were trying to manage the crowd, listen to the wild stories from the neighbors, and figure out what had actually happened amidst the impossible. The five friends blended in, five terrified students supporting a heartbroken mother, their secret hidden in plain sight.
Later that night, the five friends gathered back at the headquarters. Gauri was safe with neighbour, traumatized but unharmed. Krishna's home was destroyed, and the whole neighborhood knew a super-powered battle had taken place there. Their secret identities were safe for now, but the public connection between Krishna's family and Meteoroid Man's attack was undeniable.
Krishna walked over to his locker. He ejected the clip of rubber bullets. He picked up the magazine filled with armor-piercing real bullets. He slammed it into the pistol with a decisive, metallic click.
The sound made the others turn. They saw the cold fire in his eyes.
"He made this personal," Krishna said, his voice dangerously quiet. "He came into my home. He tried to hurt Simran. He terrified my mother. He did it because of us." He holstered the weapon. "Next time we face him, we don't just drive him off. We finish it."
A new, harder resolve settled over the team. This wasn't just about protecting the city. It was about revenge, and protecting their own.
Simran stepped forward, holding out the fragment of Meteoroid Man she had recovered. She placed it carefully into a specialized containment scanner in the workshop. Her face was grim, determined.
"If we're going to finish it," Anura said, her voice filled with cold, scientific focus, "I need to understand what we're fighting." She initiated a deep scan, holographic displays flickering to life with complex energy signatures and material analyses. The research had begun.
[To be continued…]
Support me: vanshbosssrahate@oksbi (UPI ID)
Author: Vansh Rahate
Editor: Vansh Rahate
Story by: Vansh Rahate
Under: Alaukika Studios