CHAPTER TWO - A NEW IDENTITY.

I lay on bed for one whole week. Pandit was no happy man now. My part in his new project was behind by almost a week and it could mean that my position at Octoden was going to be shaky. However, whatever he was, Pandit had a good heart and I realised that, when he told me that neither he would cut my salary for that one week holiday but also he would request our clients to give us some more time. Even Sarjeet helped me a lot; he used to bring his servant Oded to clean my house, while Anne would spend all day long besides me mending my wounds. Even my family came over and asked me to come over with them, but I knew that if I went along with them that would mean a full stop to my new plan. My parents really liked Anne, even though they knew what she was. Even my cousin brother, an animator came over to see me, so that he could show off his generous nature in front of everyone. My parents were on no talking terms with my uncle since the last 4 years…Ah…that’s some real long, boring story. The salary of 100000 bucks that I got for my job, I used to sent 20000 of it home, because whatever it was I always love my parents and no power in this world could question me on it, even though I was living separately. My house rent of 12000 bucks was good and then there were these insurance monthly premiums as well as some investments which when mature would fetch me a good some in the future, which all would total upto somewhere around 20000 bucks. With all that over life was good with 48000 to some extent. It was 2050 damn, and level of expense had increased tenfold with the ever increasing trends of basic life itself. My hospital bills had piled up and Anne helped me a lot. My father did repay it back to her, as he was angry of the fact that I was living the life of a fool, that to a fool in a complete mess…that too of all sorts. And this mess was all due to the courtesy of one bloody, gay, rich, influential man. I was ashamed of myself, probably I should never have taken that step, I saw the pain in my parents’ eyes and I saw how Anne had to toil over a big mess like me. I felt sorry for them but more than that, I felt sorry for Shah. It was time people like him knew, what it was to mock someone’s emotions, it was time Mumbai got a makeover, it was time……
I took me almost one week to get back on my feet. I joined work from the very next day and started working on my very new job too. After work at Pandits’ that day I came to Sarjeets’ shop and asked him to work over my brand new uniform. He was not sure about it in the first place, but then after hearing my intentions he started work over it, but still somewhere in his heart there was a small patch that made him feel that i was just wrong, completely wrong. And then it was time for Oded to play game. He would give me martial arts lessons for the next one whole month on every weekends, rough workouts everyday and Sarjeet…boy…boy he did a hell of a job and my new attire was black, shining and ready to wear upon. Oded taught me the basic moves, he was silent, calm and steady and beyond all way too rough when he would hit me right on my ribs!!! Everything was going on in place; my new body tone was being liked by the ladies at my workplace. This working too well, even Anne felt that I was looking quite sexy, nowadays. So she suggested me that I get some of those bashings from Inder all the time, because it indeed brought a new wave of energy in me…I was no more Mr. Nobody and ‘Shadow Nova’ was finally taking shape….It was time I hit the streets…
I felt afraid of the well quite fact that how the hell would people react after looking at me or will this be the biggest blunder of my life…But my mind had decided upon it and I was ready to roll. The best way to approach was through the alley way; however some people noticed me and they became suspicious and started mumbling about me. I decided to pace up, the tight suit was taking a toll on my balls, but that was fine I had enough padding to make it feel fine and made my way to the rail pod. The darkness of the unprepared section of the station helped me a lot to hide and when I saw that the area was clear, I ran towards the pod and jumped over it, carefully not touching the electric lines above me. Then with the train, I zoomed ahead, bystanders looking at me with awe, that what was I, was I some kind of beast or bird, or was I something else.
Inder was at his club, playing well…dirty games. I hid behind the billboard facing the alley behind his club, where his car was parked. There was just his driver there, probably armed, but it didn’t matter for me, I was prepared for the worst. It was raining and the music from the club put me on a very freakish trance… perfect for a superhero to make an entry. I approached the driver cautiously and tapped the boot area of the car to distract him or moreover lure him towards my trap. It was perfect…he approached the back of the car and got whacked of by me, something that Oded taught me, a move called, ‘The Neck Chop’. He lay flat there and I dumped him into the garbage dumpster and stood there for my prey. As soon as Inder approached there he was bit confused to see his chauffer not in the car and that the music still being played on the stereo in his car. He never expected what would come next… The moon hid behind the clouds and I grinned. I jumped off from the top of the billboard wall and over to the grilling bar on the first floor window. He still didn’t notice me and then like a beast from the darkness, I pounced upon him and the rest…well there was nothing left to explain… He cried and I gave him pain and I kicked him off onto the street. The electrifying music sound from the club and the rain both ate his crying wails and I kept on bumping him off to the next alley, a much darker alley and I loved it… He was pleading for mercy but I actually left it back home… He couldn’t believe his eyes and before I could slash his throat off he asked me, ‘What are you?’ and I said well in Hindi, ‘Tera Baap!!!’ And tore his face off. Bleeding, broken, almost dead he crawled towards the alleyway wall and looked towards the beggars standing there; I recognised them as the same beggars whom Inder had got bashed by his club bouncers, just for the sake that they were standing in front of his club a few days back, hoping that someone would lend them some alms or that they might get some left over food from the club. Inder was begging them to help him…pity his state was so bad that today he had to beg for help at those same beggars and all the money and credit chips in his wallet just was of no use…I looked into their eyes and I saw that they were happy…happy for the fact that he got what he deserved…I had him in pieces, still I didn’t feel like killing him, probably because of the teachings and values taught into me by my parents, I felt that I should not take that step… He was already way down and I left him there itself, covered in blood and muck and the rain water to flow it off to the drain. I took the money from his wallet and gave it to those beggars, not thinking about charity or something just because I knew how hard it was to earn money in a city like Mumbai and that if you are a loser then it was way tougher. On the way I did something more mischievous, I burned down Inders’ car and the explosion shattered of the fibre works of his club exterior. It was fun; I felt much more satisfied, like as though I did something that I should have done a long way back…I felt that there was some kind of power in me, some power really… That I didn’t have any kind of feelings for Inder and looking up in the sky, I asked God that what I did; was it right or wrong…I got no answer but probably I think God had an answer in store for me Somewhere…Sometime…in Some or the other form…
Walking back home, drenched in the rain, I saw people emerging from the alley ways looking at me…because I was something that they never ever saw…something fearful yet friendly maybe…I climbed over the back side ladder of an old building and climbed upwards towards the terrace because I didn’t want anymore people looking at me, it could cause too much problems and moreover the black tight suit with a large yellow Christian cross over it was way too intimidating. Sitting on the rooftop of the rail pod back home, I discovered that there was some skin from Inders’ body in the extended nails of my black suit. Seeing this I made myself clear that, indeed I was vicious tonight. Jumping of the pod at the Andheri station I started walking towards the wall besides the track because for me getting out from the main exit gate was way too impossible as there were circuit cameras’ installed there and I would easily be caught even in the midst of prime darkness as they had night vision enabled on them. The wall adjoining the station was uneven as there was the main pipeline going underneath it and the wall was built over it. None of the government officials rectified the unevenness of this wall and it helped me to go away undetected. Sneaking back home I came across another good for nothing rascal, a mugger who was trying to do something too dirty on a woman. And when she tried to electrocute him with her stun gun, he caught hold off her hand and tried to twist it. However she didn’t cry, because she saw something behind him, something in black with red gleaming eyes and a grin that pissed of that mugger. As soon as he left hold of her, he tried to punch me, but I dodged it and went on to lift him by his neck and slammed him on to the wall, still holding his neck, suffocating him. After all I was 6’ 1” and now I was trained, that too in real military style. He smacked my jaw with his brass knuckles…and I saw blood coming out of my mouth. He had hit it pretty hard and it was way too painful…I wanted to shout aloud but, the fury in me didn’t make me to do so, instead I retaliated by punching him on his stomach and then blocking of his second blow by holding of the hand that wore the brass knuckles and gave it an almighty twist. A sound came and he cried…I had broken his wrist bone off and was still pressing it hard. His cries echoed through the streets and the rain too found it hard to contain his shrieking sound. Blood was oozing out of his arm as the claws on my hand ripped through skin,flesh and bone. And I was pressing it still hard, but the woman standing there petrified by something, which made it clear that now she was much more afraid of me rather than that mugger. I gave him another blow on his head and walked towards her. She held her stun gun at me and I said, “Look lady, I don’t intend to hurt you, I just came over to help you…I hope you understand”. But she was still standing there all cold and confused and I said, “I am just another normal guy, trying to mend these wrong things right, so that everyone can smile upon their future rather than cry”. I was being too philosophical, but it did strike her and she placed that gun in her purse and told me that she was returning from her workplace when she came across this mugger who was trying to play dirty with her. She said, “I am sorry, but who are you? And by the way…Oh my Lord, I don’t get it…what are you?” and seeing her tensed face I smiled at her and seeing this she exclaimed, “Wow! You can smile too.” And I asked her where she stays and she told me just few blocks to the right and I told her that I would leave her home. She agreed but still was quite curious about me, after all I was all clad in black and had a very big yellow Christian cross on my chest, and I even smiled according to her, which was way too exceptional for a freak like me according to her. She introduced herself as Gauri Menon and that she worked in a software company and I was really way too happy to walk along with her. She was talkative, yet graceful. Probably more than ‘Shadow Nova’ it was Reuben now walking along with her. She said, “I live here along with my pal Soumya Krishnan, who is a journalist and she is on leave and has gone to her native place, hence I walked home late tonight. By the way where do you live and sorry to ask you but do you have a name?” She felt bit awkward asking about it but had a naughty smile all through it. I said, “Yeah, you can call me ‘Shadow Nova’ and I too live in a house, but aren’t superhero identities meant to be secret”. She laughed over it and by the time we could speak more we reached her building. I bid her bye by saying that, “Gauri, next time whenever you travel at night take care that you have along with you someone reliable and if u still don’t find anyone then call me up”. “And how the hell can I call you, do superheroes like you got any cell number or something” she asked and I smiled and told her, “Yeah, but it would be better if u look up in the sky and call my name, I will be there for you and if u still need any help call on this number, it belongs to one of my human friend and do give a miss cal on this number or it would be better if u sent an sms on it”. We laughed over it and walked away in opposite directions. That human friend of mine was none another than me myself…Hehe…Hehe…I was getting too naughty tonight. Probably I felt something special for her in my heart, but this special feeling always starts to occur whenever I come across any beautiful girl and Gauri was an angel…Oh my I was going back again to my special attraction stuff towards girls and this was not the right time to think about that. I was too tired and I had to go for job the very next day, also it had started to rain and so ‘Shadow Nova’ zoomed off to home sweet home…
My door scrapper had no message over it, as I had told Anne about my new avatar and she was excited about it, yet worried about me because she cared more for Reuben rather than ‘Shadow Nova’. I drank a full glass of milk and went to bed thinking about my escapades tonight and frankly also about Gauri. Before sleeping I went on to set an alarm for 7.00 a.m. on my cell phone and I saw that there was an unread message on it. I t was Gauris’ message, it read, “Hi frnd of ‘Shadow Nova’, do thnk Nova boy on behalf of me, dat he indeed was my saviour 2nite & dat it’s indeed my blessin’ dat I’ve got a frnd in him & do tell me ur name 2 coz after all ur d bridge connecting me 2 him, so Good Night, sorry to disturb & cya”. Though this message was send to me, it was however not made for me, it was designed for ‘Shadow Nova’ and probably even she felt the same feeling that ‘Shadow Nova’ felt towards her…a different feeling of attraction…With the warmth of this feeling, I slept with most of the city fast asleep, waiting for another day to rise, but some were still awake working on something big, somewhere in this big city itself, all ready to showcase their ideas to the next sunrise…But fate had some other plans and we were going to be tangled by it, unknowingly, we slept, dreamt and worked upon the new future…