And with Krishna, he working on his job, his coworkers listing to news on the small tv on the wall, and the news channel was showing the news about Krish, and why should he give his blood to UN or not, it wasn't a news it was an argument, more like a debate, where two front say side by side and debate about something of interest, and this time, the topic was him. And the conversation they are having, they didn't have anything good going on, both argued endlessly, about the topic of Krish, one supporting him and once denouncing him. And if he had to sum it up, they were talking about one simple thing, and that was -
" In this world, does humanity need someone who can decide the fate of all?"
And Krish wasn't feeling good about it, he himself doesn't care about the power he hold, cause he knows, what he has and what he could do, he himself questioned him, trying to find the answer, and whenever he did, a face always comes in front of him, and that was Dr Arya.
He sometimes wonders if what he said was right. And just as he was lost in his thoughts, a phone call came.
" Hello." He said, answering the phone, and when he got the reply from the phone, his girl on the pan tightened, and it bended a little, and his eyes showed a concerned look.
" I'll be there." And after saying that he vanished.
And far away several military personnel noticed Krish was taking flight, and he was heading in the direction of China, and reported it to higher ups.
And Krishna , who just flew over to Nepal without changing into his Krish costume, entered what looked like a hospital, and outside that hospital, he saw Chintu waiting for him, and seeing him, Krishna asked.
" What happened to Daadee Chintu? Is she ok?" And they both rushed in. Chintu explained that earlier this morning neighbours around Daadee heard the sound of something falling, and when they went to check Daadee was lying on the ground unconscious, I didn't know what happened, but they rushed her to hospital, and I went to call you immediately. and after hearing this, Krishna who was worried became even more worried, his footsteps faster. Soon they entered the medical ward, and before entering they heard a very familiar loud voice.
" I'm not dead yet!" And they both stopped in their tracks, and looked at each other.
" Daadee." they both said, and entered the room. And when they entered they heard Daadee complaining to the doctor.
" I just fell from the stairs, my feet slipped, why are you all acting like something happened, and keep that ejection away from me, I don't have any problems." And Krishna hearing this went close to her.
" Daadee are you ok? What happened?" And seeing him, Daadee pleaded.
" Krishna, you are here, tell these doctors I'm ok, see how they're going to use ejection on me, why don't you stop them." And after listening to these, he became confused, and asked.
" Daadee, what happened, did you fall?" And after hearing that, Daadee complained.
" Ahah, this, I told them but they didn't listen. I said my feet slipped and I fell. I don't understand why they are insisting on having an ejection." and after hearing this the doctor there said.
" Daadee this is for the swelling, not for anything else it'll help relieve the pain." And after hearing this, she yelled at him.
" You shut up, I'm fine there is no pain-" And just as she said that, Chinta accidentally touched her leg, making her hiss in pain. And seeing this the helpless doctor looked at Krishna, and Krishan seeing this, reassured the Daadee, and Daadee after little more drama accepted this, wincing in pain when the needle hit her.
Sometime later, Krishna brought Daadee back, her leg was a little painful to walk. Krishna placed her on the bed, and fed her some medicine with water, and Krishna said obediently beside Daadee's bed, his head lowered, and after a moment, he asked, his voice concerned.
" Why don't you live with us Daadee? Priya and I can take you. Why do you have to live in such a remote place, what if something happens, or would have happened." And after hearing this, Daadee also looked down, and looked at her swollen leg, and said lightly.
" Son, you can call it my stubbornness or last wish, I want to spend my time where I raised you." and Krishna becomes agitated.
" Daadee don't talk like that. You are fine."
" Of course I'm fine, I'm not dying anytime soon. I'm just tired of city life, I don't want to remember those days. Hear I know everyone, everyone knows me, didn't you see how everyone helped me."
" But daadee what if something happens, If you were there I could do something or dad can do something." And after hearing this, he chuckled.
" Krishna, no one lives forever, everyone dies sooner or later, but that doesn't mean we stopped leaving, don't we."
" But Daadee I can ... I can do something if you were there." and Daadee caressed his face.
" Beta(son), if I had kept you forever, would you have met Priya, if I had stopped you from going to the city, would I have ever known that I've a granddaughter." and after hearing this, he looked up with moist eyes. And seeing this, she said.
" Krishna, the world is so big, I can't be with you forever, can I?"
" But Daadee -"
" No, but. Could you have stopped me from falling if I were in the city? Don't you have a job as a cook or something." and after hearing this, he became quiet for a moment, but still persisted.
" The medical service is -" but Daadee cut him off.
" Don't make reasons, Krishna. I won't agree, I'm stubborn." And Krishna said in a low voice.
" I thought something happened to you." And Daadee looked at him.
" I thought…. Daadee, I was scared." And she hugged him.
" Shouldn't have said this earlier." and she patted his back.
" Don't worry, don't worry, this lady still has iron left, I won't die before I see little Krishna's running around calling me Daadee." And after a moment, she let him go, and wiped his tears.
" You are a grown man, what would people think if they saw you cry?" And he smiled a small smile, and said.
" Daadee, keep the phone closer from now on, if anything happens, call me immediately, I'll fly over anytime." And after hearing this, she asked.
" Don't you have that superhero job, wouldn't you be busy?" And after hearing this, he lowered his head.
" Daadee, this.. I don't understand… I'm trying to do the right thing… I'm trying to follow their rules… I'm trying to be…. I'm trying to be…I don't know." And he looked at her.
" But why don't they understand? I don't want anything, I just want to save people. Why are they blaming me? Is it because I can't save everyone? Is it because people die because of me? Why Daadee?" And Daadee after hearing this pressed his cheek.
" Why do you have to understand this Krishna? Why do you have to save everyone? Why do you have to be something that you aren't? Why do I have to be Krish? Is it because you can, or do you have the capabilities to do so?" And Krishna lowered his head. And Daadee continues.
" It's none of that." And then she pointed at his heart.
" It's because you have a kind heart." And he looked at her.
" Why didn't Dr Arya choose to do the right thing? Why didn't your father choose to be a hero? Didn't he have similar powers to you, didn't there be earthquakes when your father was around? Don't he have similar powers to you, why didn't he help? It's because they don't have the heart that you have."
" You feel pain for others that Dr Arya didn't, you feel obliged to help others that your father doesn't have, you are braver than both of them. You didn't lose hope like they did." And Krishna after hearing this said, his words calm.
" Dr Arya,,,,Dr Arya once said, that I will be disappointed in humanity, just like he was." and Daadee said lightly.
" Why did he expect anything from them anyways? You don't have control over, outside your body, you only have control of yourself. So don't expect everything to go according to your plan. You have to do what your heart tells you. What does the world have anything to do with you?" And after hearing this, he asked.
" But what if my heart said something and my mind something else?"
" Then listen to your Daadee, and stop being this Krish, don't do a job that's giving my son this much headache, I don't care about the world, my world is you. As long as you are happy, my world is happy."
" But Daadee - "
" No Daadee or something, I said it, and it's final, you be no longer Krish, damn those media, damn those politicians, you are my grandson, if anything tells anything to you, tell them Daadee told you to stop, let me see what they can do? I'm still hear for my grandson, you don't have to feel sad for them, they don't deserve it."
" But Daadee- "
" What Daadee? this is final." And seeing him still looking ready to talk, she continued.
" now you don't even listen to Daadee?" And after hearing this universal killer, he faltered, and said.
" Ok, Daadee. I won't be Krish." And seeing this, Daadee once again said.
" Krishna it doesn't matter how you do or what you do, as long as you keep your heart, you'll be the Krishna I know." And far away, in Mumbai, Sakshi got the news, and informed his father about Krishna's decision, and Rohit didn't look too much faced, but he sighs involuntarily. A little further with Priya, she was in college teaching a class when she received a call from Krishna, after listening to that, she hung up the phone, and looked at the class in front of them, and placed her hand on the table, thinking. And little further than Supriya in her news station, heard this news, and after hearing this she looked at her camera man.
" We got the news."
And soon this was on the news, Krish quiets.
And soon this news reached Richard's ear, and his expression didn't change, but his eyes did say something, and then his eyes landed on the gift box in front of him, which has a name, Carl written on a nametag. He opened it, and found an antique watch in it. He was about to grab it when someone came informing him that the president wanted to see him, and he left the gift box behind.
And with Carl he was in a plane, going back to America when he got the news, and after hearing this, he smiled.
" He gave up sooner than I thought." And he looked at Cecelia, who was sitting in front of him.
" Start step two. It seems, the climax is coming, sooner than I thought." And after hearing this, Cecelia took out a phone, and pressed a button on his phone, and soon up there in America in his lab, a truck with the logo of free America written on it opened.
And slowly from that truck on the corner, a person came, wearing a plain shirt and pants. He looked at his hand, and then at the huge buildings ahead, and then looked in the direction of White House, and he slowly started to walk in that direction, and in front of him ahead was a group of people, marching.
And with Richard, he was in a car in middle of traffic, and ahead in front of him, a group of marchers were marching on the road, protesting against the government, for asking the blood, and in middle of this, many people were also supporting the government for it, it was mix bag of people, he could see a group of arm person maintaining the peace.
Richard's eyes didn't stay on them much, and his attention was soon gathered to the advertisement screen on the building, which started to tell the news about Krish, informing that he quit the hero job.
Many people were outraged after hearing that, and many choose not to believe it, but like the people said, people's hearts are changeable, and soon Richard saw with his own eyes, how a hero suddenly becomes a villain, Richard like to comment on it, but he didn't bother to, he has seen the world, and he knows what they is all they want you to see.
He removed his eyes from the crowd, and looked at his old keyboard phone, there was a call coming in, and it was Carl. He picked up the phone, and said hello! As usual, starting the conversation.
And on the other side, Carl was playing virtual golf in his plane, Cecelia sitting beside looking outside the window.
Carl, wearing a small earpiece, greeted him.
" Mr Richard, how did you like my gift?" And after hearing this, Richard's little tense mood relaxed, and he replied.
" I haven't checked it yet." And after this, Carl raised his eyebrows, and took a glass of juice from a hostage, who after serving him, also offered Cecelia, but got no reply to it.
" Ohh! You should have checked it." Carl said sipping the juice, And Richard after hearing this, asked, his calm mood gone a little.
" Why what happened?"
" Nothing, you should have kept it at least. It's just, it was a type of signal beacon, made to protect you from certain problems." And after hearing this, he sat a little straighter.
" What did you do?"
" Me, nothing, I told you about step to right?" And after hearing this, Richard said in a serious manner.
" You are not stupid enough to release someone like Akbar in Washington are you?" And Carl laughed a little.
" No, actually. The second step as I said earlier, was possible only after krish was confirmed retired or out of reach. And don't worry this time, he is a little weaker, and the military can handle it." and after hearing this, Richard said, ignoring what he meant.
" Carl you are going too far, what if they found it was you."
" Nah, don't worry I've taken care of the rest first, you just make sure you stay away from marching people there." And after hearing this, he looked ahead, where a group of people were marching, and then he looked at the phone, and asked in a low voice.
" Who did you send?" and after hearing this, Carl replied.
" It's Denial, you read his file right." And after hearing this, Richard closed his eyes remembering him, and when he did, he asked.
" Daniel what with the power to - " And Carl also said in unison.
" Power to Clone himself, yes." And Carl makes a shot, and misses the hole by a long margin. He whistled, and nodded.
" PrettyPreety bad." he said to himself, and then focused on the call.
" So now you know, he is not a threat, if you don't count his cloning ability, he is a failed product after all, just keep a submachine gun at your side, he is smart enough to stop approaching you." And after hearing this, he asked.
" Why did you launch it here in Washington?"
" Isn't it for you?"
" Me?" asked Richard little confused.
" Didn't our plan to get his blood failed, Whitehouse might have already called you for that, this is my answer, I've made a weaken version of the Meta-gene booster, and I've the unfinished version ready, you just need to deliver his main body to me, I'll pretend that I've made a breakthrough, it'll give you and me a breather to maneuver around." And Carl made another shot, hitting it very close this time.
And Richard, after hearing this, looked at the crowd again, and his expression showed a variety of expressions, and he said in a low and very threatening manner.
" Carl, this is the second thing you have done without informing me in advance, I hope you don't do anything detrimental to your and my safety, do you understand?" And after hearing this, Carl. Raised his eyebrows.
" Ok then, there are no other steps, I'll work slowly till I make the serum perfect, and you do your stuff, Krish is out of the equation, and Rohit has given everything we need, the rest is up to you." and he hung up, and Carl looked at Cecelia who was looking outside.
" Hey Cecelia, what do you think we should do with Richard? This guy is being too picky lately." and to his response, Cecelia looked at him, and made head motion, swiping her fingers over her neck.
" Not a bad idea, he has done what needs to be done, but no. I still need a person to take the blame, it'll be better if he is alive." And Cecelia just looked at him, and seeing her expression, he said.
" Common, Cecelia. I've never taken any wrong steps, do I?" And Cecelia still didn't change.
" Ohh comeon, Daniel was the only viable option left, the Bong guy was too difficult to control. I know he is precious but what can I do?"
And with Richard, he put back the cell phone, once again looked at the crowd in front of him, but this time, his eyes had an inquiring, searching look. and after a moment of searching, he gave up, and said to his driver.
" Let's go back."
And little further from here, their matter or conversation was looking at the marching crowd in front of him, and the sign they were holding. One man coming from behind accidentally bumped into him, and he by accident turned into two. The man was surprised, but not panicked, he looked at both men, shook his head, and walked forward. And soon both people entered the heavy crowd and soon they started to multiply, and many people noticed this, and so did the security gathered there, even the people in White House were alarmed. Where have they ever seen people multiplying like magic before? This is not normal at all, and soon the whole crowd started to panic. Richard, who was in the car, saw this scene, and told his driver to stay calm and to be ready. And soon the scene started to escalate, many people panic seeing such a bizarre scene, and soon enough an accident happened. A police guard went to check on the person multiplying, he grabbed his hand, and tried to turn him over, one of his friends pointing a gun at the person.
Daniel was forced to turn around, which made his mechanism active, and he accidentally turned into two, which startled the person behind him, and he accidentally fired a shot at the duplicate, and the duplicate fell with a splatter of blood. A woman screams, and soon like damn broking, all hell breaks loose. And in this hell, Daniel who was mixed in the crowd, expanded rapidly, every physical hit was making him duplicate, a very ability if put in use. And here it was being used as a way to make the crowd more crowded. And soon this news was on TV again. Maybe people all around the world saw this. A stampede of people running, a stampede of people who looked identical, a stampede of people who kept multiplying.
Police and security in charge there took matters into their own hands and started firing, and it helped, it worked on those duplicates, and they started to fall one by one.
And news of the incident soon reached the ears of Supriya, Priya, Sakshi, Rohit and Krishna.
Krishna saw this on the news channel of Supriya, who just got the footage of it, calling it another Mahamanav incident, this time in Washington, capital of America. She raises some questions about its origin and purpose, but it has no answers, and she even asks why this happened just after Krish declared his retirement, she asks if this is a conspiracy or just a mere coincidence. And then she showed the footage of the situation, and addressed the current situation, which was being controlled by the arm forces there. There aren't any reported casualties, but by the looks of it, it's not far yet.
And Krishna who was seeing this, has the urge to go there and protect them, his hands keep shaking, his eyes never leaving the tv screen.
And after an hour or so, this news remain the topic of every news possible, they reported that, after an hour, the duplicate seems to vanish, and seems to turn into dust by themselves, scientists explain that it might be just an after image or an entity created by the Meta-gene ability of this person, and it also said they are still debating the cause of his appearance and what his powers actually are, and reports report that, US authority has taken down the suspect, and they are trying to find where did he come from, and what was his purpose. The media also reported the casualties, which varied, person to person. Some estimate it to be around 10 to 20 and some even over hundred, there is no official announcement yet, but they can analyse and predict that the situation seems not that good. And in the middle of this, many people also raised a question, where is Krish? Did he really forget about us?
Many doubted, many blamed, and many even cried, but all of them had really one question, where was Krish? Did he really abandon us?
You can say it is faith collapse or reality check, but Krish was indeed gone.
Public outrage, many demanding answers, many questioning krish and government again, many people even panicked, many questioned the government for stopping krish from saving people. It was very similar like other times, but one thing that was prominent and different from other times was, most of the people were against him. It was not like the previous one where the situation can be said as 50/50 this time, things were different, and the place was different.
And with Krishna, he was looking outside the window, looking at the mountain peak above waiting for the sunrise, and his mood was not particularly good.
" What are you doing?" An old female voice came from behind. Krishna turned, and saw Daadee standing on the door looking at him.
" Daadee you shouldn't walk -"
" Ohh cut it, I'm fine, that was just a small matter, I'm all good now." And Krishna after hearing this calmed down, and sat back on the chair he was on.
Daadee, seeing this, went close to him, and patted his head.
" Couldn't sleep?" And, after hearing this, he didn't say anything, and lowered his head. And seeing this Daadee said.
" why don't you race the sun again? Like you used to do, maybe this time you might win." and after hearing this, he looked at her, and seeing his encouraging look, he slowly stood, and looked at the direction of the hill ahead.
" Don't wait, the sun will rise soon." And Krish left in a hurry.
And, soon Krishna was at the top of the mountain. And feel the cool breeze on face, wind blowing, he can literally see the waves they were making on the smooth surface of the ice. He looked ahead, and saw the horizon, and slowly closed his eyes. His eyes fluctuate, his expression becomes complicated, he Invalently thinks about those things, he feels the coldness of the outside wind. But soon, the warmth of the sunrise hit him, and his happy memories came like a flood, and with a small smile, he opened his eyes, and met with the sun's gaze. And he uttered those words that he had said earlier.
" Wanna race?" And like before, he felt it.
" It's on." He got in a ready position and as soon as the sun moved ahead of him, he dashed forward.
This time, he felt it. He felt that long lost feeling of joy. He smiled a true smile, he felt the cool breeze, he felt the smell of nature, he felt the joy he had been missing from a long time. Flying is fun, but this, but this, chasing the sun with your own, jumping and running, just hit different. And soon he reached the place where he always loses, the cliff area.
He looked ahead , and saw the sunrays almost touching him, and he saw the cliff, and he remembered the loss, and the plane incident.
A light flashed in his eyes, and he accelerated, and made a huge jump, launching himself on the sky. And from there, he saw the town, saw the horizon, and saw what he had forgotten.
He landed on the ground, and made a small pit when he hit the ground, his shoes smocking, his breath a little heavy. He smiled, and looked ahead, the sun hadn't reached there, but he had. He had won, he had won the race.
" You did it." It was Chintu.
Krishna turned, and saw Chintu, standing there looking at him with excitement.
" You did it, you actually won!" Krishna understood this, and dusted his clothes, ignoring his praise.
" What did you see chintu?" And Chintu stopped, and looked at him. He seems to understand something.
" Nothing, I saw nothing, nothing like always." He said immediately.
" Good, let's drink Bournvita then."