I was in the garden of our house in Rameshwaram, the air thick with the scent of jasmine and the warmth of the morning sun. I found Grandma sitting on her chair, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. Overjoyed, I walked to her and said, "Grandma, I found a method to bring back Mom and Dad."
A gentle smile touched her lips. "Oh? And where did you find it?"
"Lord Krishna told me," I answered, the words feeling both impossible and utterly true.
She simply nodded, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "I see. I don't know the path the Lord guided you to, but since he said it is possible to bring back Rakesh and Xishi, then it must be true. If you wish to succeed, then do your best."
My newfound hope flickered, revealing the raw fear beneath. "I fear my best won't be enough."
Grandma's eyes, so filled with ancient wisdom, turned to me. "Well, if it isn't enough, then take a deep breath, shout 'Har Har Mahadev', and do better. I will wait for us to meet again."
Her words hit me with the force of a physical blow. My breath hitched, and I opened my eyes. The smell of tea was gone, replaced by the sterile air of my New York bedroom. It took me a moment to realize what I had just seen was a dream.
It had been two weeks since I'd walked to the peak of Kailash and had my meeting with the Divine. After climbing down, I had done as I was instructed. Following a farewell and giving my thanks to the Guruji at Rameshwaram, I had returned home to New York to prepare for the future. Shaking myself from the lingering sadness of the dream, I took a deep breath of the morning air. Now was not the time to mope around. I had to prepare myself for what was to come.
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As the clock neared noon, I got out of the car and walked into the Avengers Tower, hoping to get some help with new training equipment. And who better to ask than Tony Stark? When the elevator reached the top floor, I was surprised to find more than just Mr. Stark there.
"I wasn't expecting so much company," I said, a flicker of surprise in my voice as I looked at the assembled team.
They all gave me a curious look. Mr. Stark was the first to speak. "So, what brought you here today?"
"I want you to build me a training room."
'Oh, that doesn't sound very hard, but let's see if I can get something interesting out of him,' Tony thought, his mind already working.
"Why should I do it?" he asked aloud, a smirk playing on his lips. "What do I get in return?"
"I can give you two of the three percent shares I have in Stark Industries."
"I want all three," he countered, a glint in his eye.
"No," I said, my voice firm. "I'll still need some money to live. And I'm planning to sell my company. If you refuse, I'll inform Miss Pepper Potts of the refusal."
A flicker of annoyance crossed his face. He hadn't expected that. "No, you won't. How about you give me the two percent, I buy your company for eight percent above market price, and build your training room? We can consider our previous conflict waived."
I smiled. 'He researched me, or maybe he just Googled me. But he is annoying.'
"Happy cooperation, Mr. Stark."
Natasha's voice cut through the air. "Are you not taking advantage of him, Stark? Those shares are very valuable."
"No, no, it's fine," I said, turning to her. "I have no need for money now, anyways, and the training room I have in mind will take some effort, even for Mr. Stark."
Tony's smirk returned. "We will see about that. By the way, I forgot to ask you, but a few years ago when the Captain was on the run, your people helped him. Why?"
"Because I ordered them to help him without putting themselves in harm's way."
His expression became serious, a sign that he was approaching a sensitive topic. "Did you know about Hydra's involvement in your parents' death?"
'If so, how did he find out?' Tony thought.
"I did not know about Hydra at that time," I replied, my voice calm and detached. "But I knew my parents' death was probably planned. As I searched for the traces, I kept an eye out for certain people. When the Captain was on the run, some of them were involved in the chase, so I gave the order to help him without getting involved myself. My grandfather told me about Hydra a month ago when I was dealing with company business, but HYDRA was destroyed by that time."
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STEVE ROGERS POV
As everyone else began to file out, a question that had been gnawing at me since he walked in stayed on my tongue. I approached him, a part of me knowing I was stepping into a place I didn't belong. "How did you overcome your grief so quickly?" I asked, my voice low. I thought of Peggy, the decades I lost with her, and the crushing weight of that loss I still carried. His composure, his detached calm, was a language I didn't understand.
He didn't look at me. His gaze was distant, fixed on a far-off point I couldn't see. "I didn't," he said, the words simple and final. "I am still sad, but I will not let it affect me, as I will just have to remedy it when I have my chance."
My heart hammered in my chest. "What do you mean, when you have your chance?" I pressed, his words feeling more cryptic and dangerous with every passing second.
He finally turned to me, his gaze firm and unwavering, his eyes holding a depth I couldn't comprehend. "When I will have the chance to change the past."
A collective gasp filled the room. The silence was deafening. The others, who had been walking away, froze in their tracks. Their heads snapped back toward us, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "What?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, the word leaving my lips like a ghost.