Set Up

Aditya increased the speed of the Hummer. He activated 'Slow Timing' as he needed time to think. It had been many days since he needed to use this ability. Aditya had a hunch that this ability was going to turn out very useful today.

From the footage, Aditya could see that those people were driving a fleet of Range Rover Sport Aspec PLR610R. H3 (Hummer 3) top speed is 198 kmph (123 mph) while the other side had high speeds of 280 kmph (174 mph). They were bound to catch up if they stayed on the highway (freeway).

Aditya could get off the highway and take a route that did not require high speeds but better control in rough terrain. Aditya felt his heart sink when he saw that all roads, near this route, lead to some human settlement (village, town, etc.). Aditya knew that these people did not value human life, in the least. Wouldn't he be endangering the lives of many innocent people by leading these wolves to those places?

A little hesitation was seen in Aditya's eyes, but, soon, it was replaced by raw coldness. He knew that he was not ready for this fight, but that did not stop him. Aditya was not aware of the kind of abilities these people possessed. Were all of them as strong as Bunny? Did they have any hi-tech equipment that he did not know? How could they kill the Chief Minister? How were there no recordings of the incident when it was done publicly?

There were many variables, but Aditya would not leave Taarini when she was in danger. After everything that Taarini had done for him, Aditya would not be able to forgive himself if he turned his back to her.

"Tya, see if you can get into RISAT-1 or any other earth observation satellites, be it Indian or any other country's. Get the National Highway (freeway), which is ahead, vacated by issuing an aircraft emergency (Issued when an aircraft has malfunctioned and is forced to land in the middle of the road). Take Elder sister Saira's help if you need." Aditya started to think of all measures, which would increase his chances of survival.

"Yup, let me see if any satellites are above us currently. Usually, most of these satellites are placed in sun-synchronous orbit, enabling them to move around the world," Tya replied as he got to work.

Aditya sent this information to Saira. He was sure that Saira would try to help, but he did not know if she could make it in time. Aditya also wanted Saira to have the Police help in keeping the road clear. He did not have any extravagant demands of having the police come to rescue him as these people were clearly above their calibre and paycheck.

Aditya took a deep breath and turned towards Taarini. He had to reveal a few things to her beforehand.

"Mentor, we are in danger," Aditya spoke in an earnest tone. Taarini had been observing Aditya for some time and knew that something was bothering him. So, Taarini solemnly nodded, "go on."

"Do you remember when I spoke about a secret organisation that had taken my parents away?"

"I do."

"They are coming for us, and it is not for peacefully chatting with us," Aditya said as he grabbed a bottle of oil mixed with all kinds of nutrients. This bottle was his 'fuel'.

"So, what is your plan?" Taarini asked straightforwardly. She understood the hidden meaning in Aditya's words and trusted him wholeheartedly. Also, she did not ask if these people were coming for Aditya. It was as if it did not matter to her if they came for Aditya or her; she was going to fight alongside him.

Aditya paused when he heard Taarini's words but immediately recovered and said, "I want you to send Raghav and others away. They won't be helpful in the least and might even get injured in the process."

Taarini nodded her head as she picked her phone to call Munna. She placed the phone between her ear and left shoulder as she opened a compartment and took a handgun, Sig Sauer P226X5, out. She opened the ammunition box and filled the twelve rounds as she talked with Munna.

Aditya looked at how calm Taarini appeared and steadied his heart as well. After all, it was going to be his first bloody engagement while Taarini was used to living on the edge of life. Aditya started drinking the oil. Though it was uncomfortable, he was not in a position to complain. This bottle was 6000 calories combined with a formulated mixture of amino acids and other nutrients.

"Adi, I have the visuals from the satellite. There are five cars. You will see them in about ten seconds," Tya's cute voice was heard.

"Awesome, now get me the visuals of everything going within a twenty kilometres range. I doubt that these five cars are the only teams dispatched. Also, we can't forget those who killed the Chief Minister," Aditya spoke as he also took out his 1911 handgun. This handgun had the record of shooting 27 rounds in 3.7 seconds.

One could imagine the terrific release speed of ammo. But, conventionally, high release speed was not a desirable feature as a person in armed conflict required efficiency and accuracy. Fast shooting wastes a lot of bullets and has a high rate of inaccuracy. But that was not the case with Aditya as he did not have to worry about efficiency and accuracy.

"Tya, do you remember the idea we had about the telescopic lens?" Aditya asked as he saw the cars behind him take a diversion. Taarini had not revealed the truth but gave a pretence to Raghav and Munna.

"Are you sure? It might be excruciating," Tya worriedly asked.

"Go ahead, also modify my face and physique a little so that these people can't see me as 'Aditya'." Aditya said as he turned towards Taarini, "mentor, I have to ask you to remain calm. I am more abnormal than you might have already guessed."

Taarini was puzzled when she heard these words. Just as she was about to ask, Taarini gasped when she saw Aditya's face started to transform. Aditya's face was oval, but now it became broad and squarish. The colour of his hair changed from black to dark brown, and a rough beard grew. Even the complexion of his skin lightened.

Taarini knew that Aditya's abilities bordered on superhuman powers, be it his accuracy, memory, comprehending skills. But she never imagined that Aditya could change his appearance. Taarini looked at this process with wide-open eyes but did not make a sound. She handled it quite well.

After Taarini recovered her composure, she asked an important question that sprouted in her heart. "Is the previous appearance also a camouflage?"

Aditya shook his head as he answered, "That's my original appearance." Taarini felt relieved for some reason when she heard these words.

"Aditya, brace yourself, the lens fibres in your left eyes are going to start separating," Tya notified. Before Aditya could do anything, an intense acute pain pierced his mind like a needle. This theory was something that Aditya and Tya had worked together intending to increase his visual range.

The concept was to separate the lens in his eyes into two parts. Lens was a transparent, biconvex structure in the human eye, which is like a translucent mirror. The lens is separated into two parts, with one being concave while the other is convex. Clear fluid and muscle fibres separated these two mirror-like parts.

Tya could achieve this through the 'Cellular Manipulation' ability. The lens are made up of cells called 'simple cuboidal epithelium'. So, Tya could control them. So with this process, Aditya lens could function like the most efficient terrestrial telescope. It was supposed to grant high resolution and clarity by adjusting the focal length and the focal ratio between the two parts. Many complicated calculations are required to achieve this, but it is not a problem for Tya.

Aditya felt as if pins were being pricked one after the other into his left eye. Transformation of one eye was enough. Aditya regretted ordering Tya that he should not numb the pain receptors. Sweat started rolling from his forehead as the pain continued.

Aditya looked at the rear-view mirror with his right eye, to discover a fleet of cars approaching them. Though Aditya was in pain, the control he had on the vehicle was not affected a bit. The piercing pain vanished, replaced by a little radiating pain and even that pain disappeared after a second. The speed of Tya's work was the only good thing about this process. The redness in his left eye slowly receded; no one could notice any difference between his two eyes.

Aditya smiled assuredly at Taarini, who was looking at him with concern and turned his attention towards the front to check the effectiveness of this procedure.

In the beginning, Aditya could only see a blur when he closed his right eye and left his other eye open. Before Aditya could inquire Tya about this, the vision slowly focused in a similar way how a professional camera works. Aditya opened his mouth, in shock, when he saw the patterns of a bird perched on a tree which was a kilometre from him. What shocked Aditya, even more, was that the bird did not go out of focus when he was moving in such a high speed. Aditya watched the bird's eye movement as it pecked the tree branch for insects.

Everything seemed so close and bright. Aditya could see the license number of vehicles which were quite far from him and also a few people who were working in the distant paddy fields. Aditya felt his confidence increase as he looked at all these details. Aditya's experience was almost the same as that of a blind person gaining eyesight. It was as if he did not have 'true' sight until today. Aditya was, once again, reminded of the astonishing potential that Tya's abilities possessed.

'Nice', Aditya thought as a small smile appeared on his face. He held the gun in his hand as he prepared to greet some people who were eager for passage to reincarnation.

It was true that Aditya was not ready to face these people, but it was equally valid that these people were also not prepared to meet him. They could not imagine in their wildest dreams that what was going to hit them.