Revela – The Truth Finder.

Vyanjana got stuck in a middle of an on-going bank robbery, and the goons had the customers at gunpoint.

Ramesh yelled. “Everyone lie on the floor while I and my partner are going to get the money.”

Suresh hurried towards the cashier and started to transfer money into the bag. Ramesh strode towards Vyanjana, a tall curly-haired woman with brunette hair and a round face. She wore a hoodie and jeans with sneakers.

Ramesh barked. “Put your money inside the bag.”

She nodded in agreement while putting her right hand inside her purse to remove some cash. She went to hand it to Ramesh as he extended his arm Vyanjana grabbed his arm and said, “I heard a gossip that your partner in this crime is trying to cheat you out of the heist money."

The robber seemed fazed and looked around in confusion. There was a pin-drop silence, and Ramesh turned to his friend, who was now aiming his gun towards him. Ramesh’s suspicion was true, and they aimed guns at each other, both alert and fist-clenched. Ramesh’s eyes flared at Suresh while he gritted his teeth.

They were in a standoff, and Vyanjana signalled the cashier to call the police. The police arrived soon, and the robbers knew it was game over. Confused, Ramesh and Suresh surrendered to the police. The police took the robbers into custody, and every person in the bank sighed with relief.

Vyanjana stepped out of the bank onto the sidewalk. It was a beautiful sunny morning with clear skies and clean roads. Bike lanes ran along the sidewalk, and she smelled lovely flowering trees.

Playoffs were in procession on a football ground which was beside the bank. Vyanjana started to walk home and texted her best friend of ten years, Kavya. She was the only person who knew about her superpowers. They both decided to meet that day. Vyanjana reminisced about the day she got these powers which felt like a curse at first. 

She remembered she was fourteen, and it was mid-October. She was walking home from school while it was pouring that day in Mumbai. She never heard such a thunderous boom before. She was five minutes away from her house and started running. A streak of blue light flashed on the horizon, followed by a delayed yet thunderous roar. She jumped like a small cat who got scared by the noise of fallen utensils.

She kept running home, and when she thought things couldn’t get worse her whole body surged in pain. It felt like she was inside a furnace with the flames moving throughout her body. Blue lightning struck Vyanjana.

At first, she felt like she couldn’t move, but it was the shock of what had transpired. Everyone gathered around the teenage girl trying to make sure she was okay. She felt alright and looked at her hands and everyone around her with wide eyes. After a few minutes, she got up and went on her day as if nothing happened. She knew this was too far-fetched to be true and didn't think anyone, will believe her.

The next day at school, she met with Kavya and hesitated to tell her what had happened. They both went to their classes. They sat in front of Arnna, a bully who teased Vyanjana and Kavya whenever she got a chance. During recess, a rumour started to fly that Vyanjana eats rabbit meat making her fat. Hearing this, she knew who might be spreading this nonsense, and her nose flared while she started to shake. Kavya sat beside her and tried to calm her down.

With a snap, Vyanjana said, “I know Arnna applies cheap make-up giving her boils on her face.”

Kavya retorted. “I know you feel hurt but it’s not right to spread gossip."

A few moments passed, and Arnna let out a scream everyone looked at her to see red boils all over Arnna's face. Both Vyanjana and Kavya looked at each other in stumped expressions.

Vyanjana reached her apartment where she lived with her father Amit. Kavya arrived on her moped and Vyanjana filled her in on the bank heist and how she saved the day.

Kavya said, “That’s amazing, you are getting the hang of your powers, Revela.”

“Yea Kavya speak louder the neighbours didn’t hear my secret alias,” muttered Vyanjana.

“Oops my bad.”

Kavya was a magazine writer who wrote about fashion and lifestyle. She was the only friend Vyanjana ever had and supported her through her life. Being a superhero wasn’t easy for her. When Vyanjana was little, she would snap at people and GOSSIP about things that would get someone hurt. This made her anxious and scared to use her powers.

Though Vyanjana’s powers were mighty, they had limitations as she needed to be in person for them to work. Vyanjana asked Kavya to follow her because she wanted to show Kavya the new super suit. They both entered her home and greeted Vyanjana’s, father, Amit. He always had a bright smile whenever he saw, Kavya.

Amit was an Analytical linguist and worked at a tech company called Lingua. His role was to program ancient Indian languages in the AI system. The company had technology which could identify and decipher languages and cultures. Vyanjana’s mother died when she was seven despite it her father did everything possible for Vyanjana.

They both walked into her room and closed the door behind them. Vyanjana showed Kavya the navy blue suit with red along the waistline and defined her toned body. The suit came with a mask to hide her identity. It had an in-ear microphone so Kavya could talk to Vyanjana whenever she was fighting bad guys. Vyanjana showed Kavya how the system worked after which Kavya greeted her goodbye.

Vyanjana worked in a graphic design firm and had a busy day ahead. She ate her dinner in her room while her father had the meal alone. She had a big presentation the next day and went to sleep.

She was walking into a large warehouse with big openings, the plaster fell off the walls and, it looked eerie. There sat a colony of eagles on the beams under the ceiling. When she crossed the threshold of the warehouse entering a room she saw her father and Kavya tied to chairs. Both were unconscious, and a dark figure wearing a blue robe stood up. The person loomed over the room, and their eyes shot an electrifying blue colour.

The person said in a deep electronic voice, “You are late your family is already at heaven’s gate.”

Vyanjana woke up sweating. She lifted her bed covers and sat holding her face in her hands. She realised it was a dream. She went to wake her dad in his room and saw it was empty. A sweat drop trickled on her back, and a cold sensation flew through her spine. She called for her father in the house.

“Papa, Papaa, PAPA.”

But to no avail, she tried calling his phone, but it was out of service. He never went out in the morning and always told her where he was going. Vyanjana called Kavya and told her about her missing father. Kavya told her that she was heading to her home right away. As soon she hung up, her phone rang with an unknown number displayed on the phone.

She picked up the phone and heard a deep electronic voice like the one in the dream.

“Hello, I have your father in my custody, I will return your father if you do as I say."

Vyanjana’s balance shook and she felt like the ground would suck her into the core of the earth.

“Please do not hurt him, I will do as you tell me,” Said Vyanjana in a trembling voice.

Vyanjana knew she couldn’t use her powers on the phone.

The electronic voice replied, “I will call back soon.”

Kavya arrived a few minutes later, and Vyanjana told her about the kidnapping.

“This is mental he is a simple guy who speaks whole day about different tribes why would anyone do such thing?” said Kavya.

The phone rang again, Vyanjana picked up, and her father spoke, “She has got me here Vyanjana, but I am alright.”

Vyanjana murmured. “Don’t worry I will come and get you.”

The electronic voice said, "I want you to get the Ancient Indian language files from his cabin in his office."

“Why would they let me in?”

“Well because of your powers honey.”

There was dead silence. How this person knew, thought Vyanjana.

“I am sending you a hard drive you have to upload all the files into it."

The call dropped, and Vyanjana asked Kavya to stay at her home and use the superhero network to identify her.

Vyanjana reached the offices of Lingua AI carrying her suit and the hard drive she found in her mail. The planes of the building were curvilinear with the façade designed out of glass.

Vyanjana entered through the doors approached the receptionist, and said,

“Hi, I am Vyanjana Jadhav, and I am here to collect some files for my father.”

“Oh let me check if we have any email of your arrival,” replied the receptionist.

Vyanjana knew there won’t be any email, so she said. “I heard gossip you gave me the visitor ID.”

The receptionist looked dazed and obliged giving her the Visitor ID.

She took the ID and headed over, to the sixteenth floor where her father worked.

She entered the floor and got some odd looks from the office workers she, navigated her way to his cabin. She got to his desk and sat on the chair in front of the computer; she plugged in the hard drive and started to load the files.

“Transfer complete,” displayed on the screen. She got up ready to leave and got a call.

The electronic voice said, “I am sending you an address shortly, pull up to it.”

“Why don’t you meet me I know this is all a misunderstanding.”

“Different languages caused misunderstandings, I will eradicate this problem.”

“At least tell me your name.”

“Voxana.”

Vyanjana called Kavya and told her name, and asked her to check in the super-abled database for a ‘Voxana’. She took the hard drive from the desk and took off from the cabin.

“Security, it’s her,” said the receptionist and four guards entered the cabin.

As four security men approached, Vyanjana hit one of the guards with her knee. She took the Taser, out of his belt as he fell to the ground. She then tased the second guard electrocuting him and used her gossip power on the third guard.

She said, “I heard a gossip that saw to it that I leave this building into my car.”

The dazed guard obliged and hit the guard. He took her through the fire exit and into her car. When she drove off the charm on the guard wore off and he came to his senses. But by this time Vyanjana hurried back.

Vyanjana was on the road when she got a message from Voxana giving the address of the place she wanted her to arrive. Cooperating with Voxana she went to the address which, was a bit out of the city.

Vyanjana called Kavya and said, “Voxana has given me an address of a warehouse near Sanjay Gandhi National Park; I am heading there right now.”

“I found something good about Voxana; she got struck by the blue lightning ten years ago. She received the power to communicate with birds. She graduated as a linguist and her final year thesis topic was to create a universal language,” replied Kavya.

“That’s why she needs this data on the ancient India languages, I wonder why my father though. There are many people working on the project.”

“Voxana is her alias; her real name is Arnna Patel, our school classmate.”

Vyanjana almost hit the car in front of her upon hearing Arnna’s name.

“I am sending you an app I created from an AI software that can communicate with birds,” said Kavya.

“That’s great, send it to my suit and alert the cops,” said Vyanjana.

Vyanjana reached the warehouse; a similar feeling rose when she saw the warehouse. She changed into her superhero outfit and got off from her car; she started to walk towards the warehouse. The warehouse had some old equipment spaced and columns. She tried to call out for her.

“Arnna, I have brought everything you asked please give me my father back!” said Revela.

An eagle flew down grabbing the drive off her hands.

“HEYY!” Vyanjana exclaimed.

“Well hello, long time no see Vyanjana, or I must call you Revela?” asked Voxana.

She wore headphones so that the gossip powers won’t work on her.

“Where’s my father?” demanded Revela.

“I have him tucked right here,” Voxana pointed to a chair with her father chained to it.

She had an eagle sitting on his head, “Don’t come any closer or my eagles will pluck his brain out.”

Vyanjana stayed put.

“You were a perfect target since your father worked for Lingua AI."

“Why did you have to hurt him?”

“Revenge, for what you did to me in class, like two birds one stone.”

Revela murmured, “Look, I dint know I had powers back then, I didn’t do it on purpose, I am sorry Arnna.”

“My name is not Arnna,” shouted Voxana, “I am going to give you your father back, but you have to do one last task, reveal to the world your powers."

“That’s crazy I can’t.”

“I am afraid you are not in a position to debate.”

Revela pulled out her phone and started to record, “Hello guys this is Vyanjana I am here today to make a confession. My alias is Revela and I can make any gossip come true like I heard you are going to attack Voxana.”

For a moment, nothing happened, and then some eagles jumped on Voxana attacking her.

Voxana fell to the ground. Revela unchained her father,

“How did you control my eagles, they only answer to me,” demanded Voxana.

“Well, that’s a secret.”

She hit Voxana on her head rendering her unconscious.

The cops arrived with Kavya and arrested Voxana. They both took Amit home to safety.

*****

Somewhere far away.

“Master, the police caught Voxana, our plans are at a halt,” said Serephine Steele.

“Useless as ever, go cipher, it’s your turn to prove yourself,” said Mind Master.

Cipher bowed his head and went out of the castle.