Vikram stands on top of a house terrace, looking down.
A group of wannabe gangster school students—five of them—are beating up a boy in a lane at midnight.
One has a rod, another holds a stone. A third one stands with a belt in hand. The remaining two have pinned the boy down. Blood drips from his nose, his clothes are nearly torn, and his face is swollen. He's crying as he pleads:
"Please forgive me! I swear, I won't talk to her again!"
The guy with the rod grabs both of the boy's cheeks tightly and presses them, forcing him to look up.
"Don't you get it!? She's my girl. Stay away from her! Feeling bold, huh? Laugh now, go on—laugh!"
From behind them, a voice calls out:
"You're beating him over a girl—one who might be yours but isn't really. What are you, stupid?"
They turn around. The guy holding the rod points it toward Vikram. Rod guy, calm but with a warning tone, says:
"I'll say it once—leave. And get this in your head—she's mine."
Vikram looks at them with a gaze as if he's seeing something absurdly strange, almost unbelievable. Placing a hand on his face, he mutters:
"So corny."
Hearing that, the gang gets pissed. The guy with the stone throws it at Vikram. Vikram flinches and steps back slightly. Holding his hand in front of his face, he makes an X and squints his eyes.
But the stone misses, flying past Vikram and hitting something else. Vikram doesn't even flinch, still standing with his eyes closed, as if he's waiting for the hit that never came.
The guy with the rod charges forward to attack Vikram.
"Rahhhhhhh!"
He hits Vikram multiple times—but Vikram just keeps standing there, still expecting the stone to hit.
The rod guy stops, breathes heavily, steps back, and mutters,
"Is he made of iron or what!?"
Vikram opens his eyes, slowly realizing what's happening. His gaze shifts to the stone lying far to the side.
A voice of power echoes in his head :
"Fool, I already told you—your bones are made of Vajra now. You're practically a super soldier—no, beyond that."
Vikram, a bit embarrassed, adjusts his stance and says,
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just… pretend to mess around with them."
The guy who threw the stone watches Vikram and thinks,
"Is this guy insane?"
Vikram slightly adjusts his hips, puts his right leg forward, and with a subtle twist, lands a gut punch with his right hand on the rod guy.
The punch is so strong, the guy falls unconscious on the spot. The rod slips from his hands and clatters to the ground on the left side.Seeing the rod guy collapse, one of his friends tries to hit Vikram with a belt. But Vikram, without much effort, grabs the belt mid-air and yanks it.
In a swift move, he pulls both the belt and the guy holding it into the air behind him—
"Wahhhhhhh!"
The belt guy screams mid-air. Vikram, startled, turns around quickly.
"If he falls down from that height, he'll die!"
But instead, the belt guy lands on the roof of a nearby building. Vikram exhales in relief, lowering his head slightly:
"Sigh… alright, he's not hurt badly."
As he looks back up—
Smack!
Someone punches Vikram in the face.
But Vikram doesn't even feel it.
He calmly grabs the attacker's hand and slams him down.
"Arghhh! What are you!?"
The attacker's hand is fractured. Vikram grabs his hair and lifts him. The guy lets out another scream, writhing in pain, and falls flat on the ground, clutching his head.
"Arghhh! Are you crazy!?"
Vikram replies seriously,
"Maybe I am."
The boy who was getting beaten earlier squints one eye and whispers,
"Levi?"
Vikram flashes a bright smile and gives a thumbs-up:
"Correct! And you two—planning to let him go now or what?"
Hearing that, the two guys holding the beaten boy panic and run away.
The boy slowly stands up, feeling the pressure on his arms finally release. He fixes his torn clothes and looks up to thank Vikram—
—but Vikram has already vanished.
All that remains is the rod guy lying unconscious, the guy whose hair was pulled still groaning on the ground, and the rest nowhere to be seen.
The boy looks around once more and runs away.
From the rooftop, Vikram watches him go.
A voice inside his head—his power—speaks:
"So, how does it feel to be a noble knight protecting the innocent in the darkness of night?"
Vikram replied,
"Betrayed."
Power looked at him, stunned.
"Huh? Why? But—"
Vikram pulled out his phone and opened the list Samradh had sent him— a list of every gang currently operating in Mumbai.
He sat down, stretching his legs forward, and sighed.
"I put my trust in Samradh… asked him to get me a list of gangs. But instead, he sent me a list full of wannabe gangster teenagers."
Power gasped,
"What? That means… now we have to personally take down all these gangs?"
Vikram placed a hand on his forehead and muttered,
"Yes… and it's already 1:30 AM. The serial killer is going to strike again—sometime after 12 AM tomorrow. I need to become stronger before that."
He took a deep breath, then continued,
"Power, if I do all of this… I'll be able to save everyone, right?"
Hearing that, Power took physical form. Emerging from the golden glow flowing from Vikram's hand, She gently lowered herself onto his outstretched legs, straddling him with effortless grace
She cupped his face in her hands.
Vikram looked into her eyes.
Her long, black, goddess-like hair flowed over her shoulders, adorned with a jewel on her forehead.
Her skin was pale and luminous. She wore a red dress—elegant and alluring—and her deep red eyes locked with his.
She spoke softly,
"Fear not the shadows of tomorrow. We walk together—goddess and knight—into the storm. And the Feathered Nightmare… will fall."
Vikram listened closely, then slowly nodded in agreement. and said "so corny"
Power screamed, "You polluted-minded peasant! You can't even comprehend divine words—huff!"
Vikram says, "Alright, let's go. We have to scare these gangs ourselves now."
Power simply responds with a "Hmm," before merging back into Vikram's body.
Vikram stands tall, places his hands on his waist, stretches slightly backward, then suddenly takes off running. He leaps off the rooftop, skipping over two to three buildings, landing smoothly on one roof with his right leg. Without stopping, he crouches and takes another massive leap, moving from one spot to another with long, calculated jumps.
While jumping, Power's voice echoes in his head, "Where are you going? Or are you just wandering around like an idiot again?"
Still mid-jump and scanning his surroundings, Vikram replies, "Fish market. There's a nearby container yard where ships dock. Everyone knows gangs operate in that area."
Power, sounding impressed, says, "Oh really? Great. Can't wait to break some bones!"
Vikram narrows his eyes and mutters with disbelief, "Are you really a goddess or not? I've never read a single story where gods are excited to fight."
Hearing that, Power suddenly bursts into nonstop chatter, "Listen here, you brain-dead idiot! I never said I was a goddess! I'm your Power, remember? Your Power who took a physical form and granted you the ability to use my strength because I… I was impressed by you! But don't take it the wrong way, you filthy-minded peasant brat!"
Clearly embarrassed, she continues more composed, "That's enough talk. First, defeat these gangs. Then I'll tell you how to unlock the full potential of my seal and about my origins… if you're interested, that is."
Vikram sighs. "So you're not a goddess, just… something else. But if you stand beside me in my worst times, then you're no less than a goddess to me." He smiles softly.
As Vikram continues leaping over rooftops, he suddenly spots a familiar face—a girl walking with an old man into an abandoned building.
"What the hell is she doing here?" he wonders, landing on a nearby rooftop and observing from a distance.
It's Anita—dressed up, wearing makeup. Even under the dim night, from this far, she looks beautiful. The old man has his hand on her shoulder, guiding her inside the deserted building.
They go up to the second floor. The man, his hand still on her shoulder, says, "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment? A whole year."
He looks at her, but Anita's face is completely blank. She walks emotionlessly up the stairs.
The man whispers in her ear, "I've always seen your face stay like that… quiet and numb."
As he looks forward, he suddenly freezes—Vikram stands before him.
"Who the hell are you?! Get out! This is private property!" the man yells, enraged.
Vikram doesn't respond. He just stares at Anita and the old man. He's standing a few steps above them.
Anita looks up, surprised. Her eyes widen, and tears well up. She whispers, "You… you're here? Are you okay…? Is your health alright?"
She hesitates, uncertain. Vikram ignores her and says coldly, "I had no problem calling you a friend. I thought those rumors about you weren't true. But they were. That's why I started avoiding you. If you leave all this, I'll still consider you a friend."
He pauses for a few seconds, then sternly adds, "If not, don't ever show me your face again."
Anita lowers her head, tears flowing. The old man walks up the stairs and grabs Vikram by the collar. "That's enough! Think you're some hero? I've been her customer ever since you started JKG. I paid her father fully!"
Hearing that, Vikram snaps.
Power, frustrated, yells in his head, "Vikram—!"
"I know what I have to do," Vikram growls.
No one else hears Power now—only Vikram.
Vikram grabs the old man's testicles in one hand and crushes them. The man lets out a guttural scream—"URRGHHHHH"—before collapsing, clutching himself. Vikram smashes his head and knocks him unconscious.
Looking into Anita's eyes, Vikram reaches out his hand and says, "There's an officer I know. Tell him everything. He'll make sure your father ends up in jail."
Anita, overwhelmed, takes a step forward and begs, "No, no, no… He's the only family I have left. I can't let them take him…"
Vikram walks down a few steps to reach her, grabs her shoulders, and says with fury, "What kind of father makes his daughter do this?"
Anita gasps and sobs, "You don't understand anything!"
Tears flowing freely, she says, "There were twenty girls in that container. They killed them all. They was going to kill me too, but then… he stopped Them. He brought me home. He personally trained me for two years… to survive… to do this 'job' properly."
She rests her head on Vikram's shoulder, crying. "He's the only one who accepted me. Everyone else just looks at me like I'm garbage."
All those bottled-up emotions, buried deep for days, finally pour out of her.
Vikram gently places his hand on her back and head, comforting her.
"Look, I didn't know you were going through all that... but if you won't help yourself, then how am I supposed to help you?" Vikram said, his voice steady but filled with concern. "I'll give you time to think about it. And please… quit this job."
He paused for a moment, then added more softly, "As a friend… I like you."
Anita flinched slightly—not out of fear or discomfort, but from the weight of his words. She slowly lifted her teary face and met his eyes.
"If you leave all this behind," Vikram continued, "I'll take you on a date. You won't even need to send your father to jail. Just stay at my place. Is that okay?"
Anita stepped back, descended a few steps, and murmured, "I'll give you my answer tomorrow."
She continued down the stairs. At the bottom, she turned to look at him one last time.
"I have some work," Vikram said casually. "I'll be wandering at night."
Hearing that, Anita suddenly turned around. She rushed back up, grabbed his face with both hands, and kissed him.
"Wait… stay close to me," she whispered.
At that moment, Power materialized beside them, her face burning red with flustered emotion. Without a word, she grabbed Vikram's hand and dragged him toward the edge of the floor.
"Don't forget our mission," she said sharply.
Without hesitation, she jumped, crossing two, then four buildings effortlessly. Mid-air, she merged back into Vikram.
"Power—" Vikram began.
"Quiet. Focus," she interrupted. "And no, I'm not jealous or anything!"
"But then—"
"Shuuuuuut up!" she shouted, her voice cracking with frustration and embarrassment.
Vikram sighed inwardly.
There goes my first kiss… ruined.
Below, Anita stood frozen, staring up in disbelief.
"That girl just flew off with Vikram… in the air?!"