The corridor echoed with the soft, rhythmic squeak of wheels on tile.
Aarvansh lay on a stretcher. His hands were gently strapped—not forced, just protocol. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling—but his mind was elsewhere.
Aarvansh stood silently near the window, staring at the dim lights of the city below. The city felt far away. So did the normal world.
Behind him, Bhalla's voice broke the silence.
Bhalla"I know what I'm asking isn't fair."
Aarvansh didn't turn. He just listened.
Bhalla"That vial's old. We don't know if time's changed it. It might be unstable.""Centuries ago, the king who used it had to take it every three days—or he'd die. We think that flaw was fixed. But we can't risk duplicating it to test.""You're young. We don't know how your body will react."
Aarvansh exhaled slowly, the weight sinking in.
Aarvansh"Why me? Why not send the army?"
Bhalla"We can't use the army. If this goes public, AGNI's finished.""Aryan's too strong. No agent alive can stop him."
A long pause. Then—
Bhalla (softly)"If Albert's still out there… someone has to bring him back.""I cannot force you. All I can say is that the nation needs Albert… and it needs you."
Aarvansh finally turned from the window, his eyes locking on the vial.
Back in the present, his eyes blinked slowly under the lab lights.
Bhalla walked beside the stretcher, unusually quiet.
The stretcher entered a sealed chamber—sterile, humming, sharp with sterilized air. Two AGNI med-techs moved into position. One checked monitors. The other held the vial—the last of its kind, glowing faintly.
Med-Tech (quietly)"Vitals steady. Ready for injection."
Bhalla stepped closer to the doctor and whispered in his ear.
Bhalla (low)"Can you give me a minute with him?"
The doctor nodded. Everyone paused.
Bhalla leaned over Aarvansh, lowering his voice.
Bhalla (quiet)"You know, this is exactly how every superhero movie starts."
Aarvansh looked at him, wary.
Bhalla"Normal guy. Secret serum. Silent lab. Ten minutes later—boom. He's levitating and wrecking buildings.""Don't do that. I like this lab."
Aarvansh gave a faint nod."No promises."
Bhalla stepped back, nodding to the medics.
Bhalla"Alright. Let's give him the good stuff."
The vial locked in. A hiss. The countdown began.
System Voice"Administering serum in 3… 2… 1…"
Bhalla (whispers)"Remember, Aarvansh… you've got this."
Aarvansh closed his eyes.
The hum of the lab vanished.
And in the darkness, the past returned—sharp, unfiltered.
He was fifteen again, sitting at the dining table. His mother placed a college brochure in front of him.
Mom"Beta, look at this one. It's not bad. Good campus. Less pressure."
He had nodded politely, but inside, he had already drawn a line.
In school, he raised his hand to answer a tough physics question. The teacher gave him a tight smile.
Teacher"Dreaming about IIT, Aarvansh? Maybe try something more practical."
Lunch break. His friends cracked jokes around him.
Friend 1"IIT Delhi? Bro, you barely passed math last term."
Friend 2"Just marry rich and save yourself the trouble, man."
They all laughed.
At night, he stared at his ceiling fan—tired, average, and alone with one thought that never left him:
"You've got this."
He didn't just prove them wrong.
He shattered their limits.
IIT Delhi. Best branch. On merit. No shortcuts. No noise.
And now—once again—he was here.
Strapped to a table, on the edge of the unknown. Silence.
Then—a pulse.
Aarvansh's body twitched once on the table. His fingers curled. His back arched slightly, as if a current had passed through him.
Med-Tech"Muscle tension rising—wait, stabilizing. Breathing irregular."
Bhalla pressed closer to the glass.
Aarvansh's face was calm, but his body shook—like it was reacting and resisting at the same time.
Doctor"We may need to sedate—"
Bhalla"No. Give it a second."
Inside, Aarvansh wasn't feeling pain.
He was feeling stillness.
The world outside was chaos. But in his head—clarity. Not empty. Clear. Focused.
Time felt slower.
Thoughts flowed like water—no blocks, no stutters. He could hear his own heartbeat, but it didn't distract him. It was perfectly timed, like a metronome.
He opened his eyes.
The tremors stopped.
Doctor (whispering)"I… I think it worked."
Aarvansh sat up—slowly, controlled.
He looked around the room. The monitors. The ceiling lights. The charts on the transparent whiteboard across the room.
Something clicked.
Equations. Half-completed chemical formulas. Graphs tracking molecular decay.
He stared at one—then another—and understood them.
Not from memory. Not from training.
From pattern. From instinct.
Aarvansh (softly, to himself)"This isn't random… this one shows decay time after temperature rise. That one—pressure shift across binding agents…"
Med-Tech (stunned)"That chart's from internal AGNI research. It's encrypted biophysics…"
Aarvansh turned to Bhalla behind the glass.
Aarvansh (calmly)"The drug didn't just change my body.""It changed how I think."
Bhalla glanced at the stunned med-techs, then leaned toward the lead doctor.
Bhalla (quietly)"Did it mess with his mind too?"
The doctor looked through the glass, watching Aarvansh study the charts like street signs.
Doctor (softly)"No. It didn't change who he is.""It just amplified it."
Bhalla exhaled. Almost a smile—but not quite.
He looked back at Aarvansh, standing now with complete composure.
Bhalla (to himself)"I hope he's ready."