Indian men who are reading this blog will surely feel the nostalgia that I'm feeling. Indeed, I'm a kid of the modern age, and I've seen and read very little of Shaktimaan. Our first superhero. But whatever I've read and seen, I have been impressed. There are certain factors for that.

Firstly, the idea.

Secondly, the effort. Yeah, sure, kids of this age will bitch about how they have Man of Steel. Well, Hollywood also made Superman with Chris Reeve. And the VFX shown in those movies are nowhere near what we have now. But those films were appreciated because they were the best which could be provided at that time. Similarly, Shaktimaan was the best that the Indian industry could provide. And judging by what I have seen, I can say without any prejudice, that it was good.

But over time, the character has lost it's glory. Indian industry became obsessed with romantic movies and action movies-superheroes were shut down. And comics? Well, not so good artwork, poor storylines.. Plenty of reasons there also.

That made me think. Look at how the big shots are promoting their poster-characters and lead superheroes. Like Superman, Batman in DC, Spidey and Thor in Marvel, SPawn in Image, Majestic in Vertigo.

And these guys have done a fantastic job. This made me wonder-why not give Indian superheroes a resurgence? There are quite a few characters that I created which you can read about in one of my blogs. But Shaktimaan in particular appeals to me as the most marketable and enjoyable of them all.

a)The nostalgia factor that I've been talking about

b)A redone biograpy will attract international attention.

But kids ain't no longer the same they used to be. Shaktimaan used to tell the kids to brush their teeth at night, and they listened. And kids nowadays don't listen to anyone half the time, so listening to a superhero and what he has to say is out of the question. How then, to re-introduce the character making sure that the comicbook fans of this era will enjoy it.

One simple word.

Reboot :)

And many are probably pissed off at this. Who the heck am I, to reboot an Indian icon? Thing is, I'm trynna introduce him as a superhero. Not an advertiser. Rebooting him, and re-introducing the character in a wholly new fashion is the only way I can foresee, if I'm to ensure a resurrection of the character.

And here we go.

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Origin:Becoming the Elemental

Aditya Singhania was born in 1986 in the city of Bangalore to Devanshu and Savita Singhania. As you rightly guess, his origin is far from normal. He wasn't born through the natural process of human mating. It might be said that Adi was 'created'. Ever since he was born, he possessed innumerable superhuman powers. His abilities caused him a lot of trouble, and unfortunately kept him nigh-ostracized from the society. His childhood was lonely, with only a handful of friends for company. As he reaches the period of puberty, his powers start becoming increasingly modified. It increased to such an extent that at times, he was afraid to go to high school and college lest he hurt other people. It was a war-him trying to check his powers, keep them concealed. His parents, since he first leart about his powers, had told him that they were meant for a greater good, and that he had the responsibility of the protection of the cosmos on his shoulders. As a child, it used to fascinate him. But as he grew, he started questioning his parents' explanations. But they never told him anything about his origin.

It was on one fateful day, when Devanshu Singhania disappeared all of a sudden, that Adi mastered another one of his abilities-telepathy. While coming in physical contact with hismother, Adi found out about his origin. He was not a naturally born human. He was a being forged from the elements of the cosmos, and of earth. He was designed by a council of divine priests aka the Maharishis, who believed that it was the supreme God Vishnu's will to create a warrior who would grow to become the protector of not just earth, but of universes and multiverses, even. He was made to be a galactic superhero. And hence his superpowers.

Learning all of this in such a short time left Adi in a daze. But his primary concern at this point was to search for his father-who happened to be one of Maharishis, and the most noble. He then begins a journey in search for Devanshu. Before leaving, he promised Savita that he would return. And so he embarks on a voyage that takes him through the length and breadth of the country. He kept his father's advise of not revealing his powers until the time was right. He travelled throughout the country, as a common man, looking for Devanshu. He searches for him via his newly found ability of telepathy, but it doesn't work. Leaving home, leaving eloved friend's, the disappearance of Devanshu, and the crushing weight of not knowing the answers of his heart, and purpose, has a tiring effect on Adi. He is on the verge of giving up.

The fates, however, provide him with a chance of getting answers. After almost 3 years of search, Adi finds himself in the mountains of the Himalayas, living as a peasant. He has lost all hope of finding Devanshu again. It is on one eventful day, that someone connects to his mind via telepathy, and leads him to a temple situated near the summit of one of the highest peaks of the snow-clad range.

The temple is abandoned. But as Adi enters inside, all the lamps are lit, as if it is all by design. But it not just a temple. It is a site for the eyes of a man who loves technology. The temple was equipped with the most advanced of all technologi-vased equipments, machines and cyber-programmes Adi had ever seen. Also, it was provided with an artifical intelligence (not unlike JARVIS), that greeted Adi. The most shocking part of this all was this--the software had his father's voice.

The intelligence remarked that the shock of Devanshu's disappearance had opened up a psychic channel, courtesy of which Adi received telepathical abilities. Adi informed it that he knew everything. "At least, almost everything."

The artificial intelligence, codenamed V.I.S.H.N.U, made him more aware of the situation- how the Maharishis were in telepathic link with the three Godheads, Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, how they perceived the need of a hero who would always watch over the evils that are coming to destroy the world,how the Gods endowed in the Maharishis the power of creating the ELEMENTAL/SHAKTIMAAN, a man of this world with abilities that would serve him to protect the safety of the cosmos, how Devanshu was chosen to be the one who would raise him, and how Adi was a guardian of the Universe.

The intelligence, however, could not inform Adi about the whereabouts of his father, much to his dismay. But since VISHNU was designed by Himanshu himself, it knew it's responsibilities. VISHNU told Adi that this temple was where he needed to learn the secrets that had been kept for him and that now he was ready to serve the world. But not as Aditya Singhania, but as a far greater power. In an age that has already seen battle (read my blog, there are other characters who have debuted before him), Adi must serve as a symbol of hope to the entire world, and fight all evils of the cosmos. VISHNU reveals that the Maharishis had designed a suit for him-a suit based on nanotechnology. The nanomites, specifically designed for Adi's genes only, would enter his physiology and tap in to his nervous system, and it would come out through the skin pores and lover his body when it was needed. It was the battle armour designed for him by the sages, which would stand for his symbol, and help him absorb cosmic energy if he needed more power, from different energy sources.

Adi dons the suit, and feels rejuvenated. He feels that he finally knows his destiny, of which VISHNU again makes him aware. Adi embraces his destiny as the Elemental/Shaktimaan (for Indian publications), and decides to embark his journey through the cosmos for more knowledge and for further discovering his powers, while vowing to return for his mother, and for contunuing his search for Devanshu. Thanking VISHNU fr everything (after the latter informed that this temple would be "his fortress of solitude", indeed, my tribute to Superman), Adi makes his first flight to the sky and beyond, ready to fulfill his destiny.

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Facing the Guardians

Following VISHNU's advise, the Elemental begins a joruney through the cosmos. He encounters several species of living organisms and alien life-forms. Some friendly, and some hostile. It is almost after six months that he returns to earth, where he goes straight home to meet his mother Savita. Savita is in utter delight when she hears that Adi has full knowledge of everything. However, she is devastated when she hears that Devanshu is still lost. It is after a long time that Adi returns home. For the first time in many years, he feels safe.

But trouble brews on the horizon, as one night, he receives a telepathic message from a peculiar entity who identifies himself as "The Helper". He tells Adi that the "dark ones" have reached him, and that he needs to be at his guard. He also informs him that they have their own headquarters near a desolate region near the Andes mountains. Adi immediately sets off to investigate.

Reaching the Andes, the Elemental finds an enormous space craft, shielded from view via some special technology. He locates it and breaks inside. He notices that the entire craft is un-manned. Not a single living thing can be found in the upper level. However, as he gets to a lower level, he notices that there are three large holdings. The Elemental accidentally pushes a button on one of the holdings. The lock opens, revealing a dead alien life form, that appears slimy in appearance, and purple in colour. He unlocks the next one as well and finds a dead alien in it as well. He unlocks the third one afterwards. As he enters the holding, it is revealed that the third alien is alive. The thing attacks the Elemental with Herculean strength, knocking him out of the craft with three blows. As the Elemental recoups, he realises that the alien is a semi-viscous organism (resembling symbiotes, but much more powerful), that can take any shape it can perceive. The alien engages the Elemental in a brutal fight that nerly levels an entire plateau block. During the fight, the Elemental realises that this thing cannot be beaten by brute strength. He realises that it is a molecular entity-the only way to destroy it is by destroying it on a molecular level. He fights the alien, leading it to an iron and steel plant. Then using his super-speed and energy blasts, he cuts open the alien, then barely manages to fling it off into a hot-metal-mixture, where it's molecules are incinerated. The fight exhausted the Elemental, and he set off for the Temple in the Mountain to heal himself.

As the Elemental reaches the temple, VISHNU reveals that the one who warned him about the ensuing battles is in fact a 'guardian'-cosmic entities, and favourites of the great Gods of the Heavens. They maintain peace and order in the Galaxies and the cosmos. However, they represent the positive power of the Universe. There is another group of the guardians, who represent the destructive forces of the Universe, called the Dark Guardians. The Guardians helped in creating the Elemental himself, and since then, the Dark Guardians have made it their mission to destroy it. The alien craft was not totally unmanned. It was piloted by a leader of the Dark Guardians' army-Zen. Zen is here to destroy the Elemental and finish the hope that he stands for. VISHNU tells Adi that Zen is powerful-strong enough to defeat even the "most powerful of the earth's demi-gods" (referring to Thunderbolt) easily, and that Adi will need all of his strength if he wants to defeat him.

Adi asks where Zen can be found, but VISHNU is not able to tell him. Adi himself cannot track Zen via telepathy. VISHNU advises him to clear his mind and try to communicate with the Guardian who informed him of Zen in the first place. Adi follows the instruction, and succeeds. The Guardian tells him that Zen is in hiding in his own city-Bangalore-waiting for him to show up, so that they might have a 'conversation'. VISHNU wishes him luck as he goes to meet Zen face to face.

In the meanwhile, the armies of USA, South America, India etc have identified the Elemental as a potential threat, while on the contrary, the people whom he saved during his fight with the alien adversary dub him as a 'hero'.

Adi scours the city of Bangalore, looking for Zen everywhere he can. However, the search is interrupted when three aliens, resembling muddy sculptures, attack him. Ther are very strong, and the battle causes casualties. Adi tries his best to keep the fight away from the people. In the meanwhile, Indian Army sends some jets to take down the combatants. The missiles fail to hurt any of them. But one of the monsters manage to take down three of the jets. Elemental saves the last one in the nick of time and resumes his battle with the monsters. He manages to fly one of the monsters (which are incapable of flight) to space and throws him away ito the deep space. The monsters attack Adi with everything they have. As one of them is about to kill a civilian, Adi catches it and brutally pummels its face, thereby killing it. The last alien then fired an energy blast of great magnitude at him, which Adi manages to reflect back, amped with a blast of his own, thereby destroying the last one as well. As he recovers, he notices someone in the air, whom he deduces to be Zen himself. Adi is about to go after him when he hears that a kid is trapped in a building that is about to collapse. Adi saves the kid, but Zen flies away, taking the advantage.

Back at home, Adi asks his mother to get out of Bangalore to Kalimpong, where her sister lived. Savita initially refuses adamantly to let his son face this alone, but Adi eventually manages to convince her to leave.

Adi then re-communicates with the Guardian, once again asking for his help to trace Zen. The Guardian tells him that this time, it will be his own sole task to find him. He also tells Adi to have faith in the Chakras (energy centres that gave Adi his powers), and that while Zen was powerful, he wasn't invincible, and that Adi could defeat him. Adi realises that Zen brought those alien monsters so that he didn't have to get involved himself. But now that his soldiers were dead, Zen would have no choice but to face him himself. Adi then rushes to the offices of Aaj Tak (a news channel), and telepathically explains to the crew his purpose. By then, the world was aware of his existence. Adi broadcasted a worldwide message via the channel, calling Zen out, and challenging him to come out of his hiding and fight him like a man. He asks Zen to meet him at the Thar desert region to end this. He also requests the Government and the National Guard not to get involved in this affair, as he didn't want more civilian and human casualties.

The Elemental reaches the Thar desert, and finds that Zen is waiting for him. He has the appearance of a seasoned warrior, with a dark-tanned skin, and the grace of an army leader. He tells Adi that he was a creation of the Gods, and the Guardians-the opposite of everything that his race stood for. He discussed how killing Adi now would ensure the victory of the dark guardians in "a war that is going to change the fate of the Universe in the future." (referring to the Dharmayudh, a saga that I'm planning to write later). He informs Adi that it is nothing personal. He goes on about how he and Adi are similar, with Adi remarking that "I'm nothing like you.", and him countering, "Oh yes, you are, more than you know." He tells Adi about his 'dark-side', which would, sooner or later, come out. He says that in time, Adi will end up in their side, because he has more power in him than intended by the Maharishis. He says that in the end, it will be the Guardians, his creators themselves, who will fight him and take him down. "I am just doing you a favor, great Shaktimaan. At least, you ill die in the hands of an enemy instead of those who gave birth to you." Adi replies ,"I am never going to become anything like that. I am never going to turn my my back to this world-it is all I have, and i is worth fighting for. My father taught me that." Zen smirks, and says, "Where is he now? Right.. He isn't there. He never was. And he never will be. 'Cause I will find him, wherever he might be hidden, and I will make him beg to me like the dog he really is. And when he does, I'm gonna kill him."

These words ignite the fire in Adi, who explodes and attacks Zen. The fight shakes the earth, as the behemoths deliver blows after blows and blasts after blasts on each other. It is seen that Zen out powers Adi, but not by a very wide margin. Adi, realising the only way is by not holding back, let's go of his calmness, and fights him with everything he has. The fight takes them from India to the Johannesburg in Africa, then to Chicago in the USA, through different parts in Europe and finally back to India, in Mumbai. The fight exhausts them both, and Zen tries to kill Adi with his Negative-Energy blast that stuns him and nearly kills him. Zen then goes on a rampage, destroying foundations and killing hundreds of people in the process. While unconscious, Adi once again received a telepathic message from the Guardian, who encouraged him to rise, and face his fears. The conversation gave Adi strength, which he utilised to get back into the fight. In a climactic battle that took a huge portion of the main city down, Adi ultimately fired a very powerful energy blast, and proceeded to beat Zen up with a series of energy-amped punches. Just when he is about to kill Zen with a final blow, he remembers what Devanshu told him about showing pity, even to those who might not deserve it. Adi let Zen live, claiming that his life wasn't worth it. He asked Zen to go back to "wherever it is you're from", and deliver a message to the Dark Guardians- that earth is not alone, and that the Elemental will always stand between them, and the people of the world.

Zen accepted defeat, but before leaving, he said that the Elemental will pay for this-that sooner or later, he will die, and that the Dark Guardians won't stop until he is dead, to which Adi replies, "I'll be waiting."

Zen flies off to his world. The citizens of India celebrate the arrival of a new hero, and Adi continues his quest of finding his father and fighting evil forces of the Universe.

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The Alliance is formed

The Elemental's emergence, his struggles with the foreign forces, and the destruction that came out of it, attracts the attention of other superheroes in the country. Kalki and Thunderbolt (you can read about them in my blog titled my Universe) decides to intercept him and get a few questions answered and issues resolved. A reluctant Axe-Man joins them. Thunderbolt uses his divine assistance to locate Adi, who, in the meantime, is livng in Kalimpong with his mother. He also receives a telepathic message from the Guardian who assisted him in his earlier adventures about the demi-gods who are after him. Adi, who cannot identify them as friendlies since they also created havoc and destruction in a fight in Vadodara, flies to them and cuts the trio off at Jamshedpur. Not being able to trust each other, a fight ensues between them. However, even the combined efforts of Kalki, Bhargava and Thunderbolt fails to knock down the Elemental. Thunderbolt hits him with a huge thunder-strike which sends Adi flying to the beach of Puri. When they reach there, they find Adi almost unphased. Adi replies back with a powerful energy blast of his own that knocks out the still inexperienced Thunderbolt. Axe-Man tries to attack him with the cosmic spear, but Adi pummels him into unconsciousness. Kalki immediately deduces that he can't be harmed by his usual weapons, so he decides to use his ultimate weapon-the Hardhanu, for shooting him with a Power Arrow. It is only after seeing the Hardhanu that Adi realises that they are not evil, since only the pure and the worthy can carry the Hardhanu. Adi surrenders to Kalki, and after the rest are revived, they decide to leave the locality and have a conversation.

In the ensuing talk, Adi explained to the team, his origin, his powers and his destiny. One by one, the trio also tell him about their identities, their own stories, and motivations, for fighting evil. An uneasy alliance is forged between them, and they dub themselves "The Protectors". Bhargav is, however, unpleased, with Adi joining them.

In the meantime, the Devas and the Godheads warn the team that a great evil is approaching earth. Adi contacts the Guardian and he says that it is indeed true-but the attack is not from the Dark guardians. "It is something else entirely."

The heroes investigate the issue further, and find out that a force of cosmic demons are about to attack earth. They had been captured, and imprisoned, by the non-skyfather Gods, but now they had escaped, and are heading for earth, which they chose to be an asset and to set up their own headquarters there. These enemies are powerful, and it took even the Gods a lot of pains to capture them. The heroes are alamred on knowing all this, and they decide to warn the world and it's leaders about it. In the meantime, they recruit a new member-Kineto, a speed-ster, after he proves himself worthy to join the team by beating Bhargava in a fight.

The Demons include a team of four super-powered demonic beings- Kyzal, Dracul and the Bloodhound- along with an army of comparatively weaker and mortal aliens. They attack the earth like a plague, and a war ensues for mankinds survival in the entire world.

However, the heroes refuse to give up even in the face of such overwhelming odds. They fight back valiantly, aided by the army and the National Guard and other millitary resources of all countries in the world, before they could spread and establish positions on the earth. The army is small, and it takes a fight to route them. It is the cosmic demons who put up a fight. In their first encounters, the Protectors are severely beaten within an inch of their lives. However, they are allowed to live, and the demons fly away to repair their mothership-cum-communications ship which they brought with them (it was taken down by Thunderbolt). Apparently, the small drones and the mothership were nothing-a bigger contingent was waiting for further instructions on when and where to arrive. It was this mothership that was badly damaged, and the demons started repairing it,giving both parties a chance to recoup.

The Gods assured the heroes that they were looking out for this hidden contingent, and that they would take it down if they found it-they instructed the team that their main concern should be how to stop the demons. They were stationed near the Savannas in Africa. The heroes decide that they had to take down this camp, along with the demons. After receiving blessings from the Godheads, the heroes make their way to the enemy headquarters, for round 2.

Reaching the demons' headquarters, Adi and the team notices that the entire mothership is shielded from the outside by an energy-barrier. The heroes attack it, but the barrier doesn't break. The demons then attack the heroes again, but this time, the fight is closer. While the two teams were engaged, Kalki hits the energy barrier with a Power Arrow from the Hardhanu, and Adi simultaneously hits it with an energy blast. Kineto and Thunderbolt distract the demons, and Axe-Man takes the advantage to go into his berserk mood and hit the barrier with the full-force of his axe. The barrier gives away to the combined attacks, and Adi wrecks the remains of the already damaged mothership. The demons are now left alone, with no apparent scope of calling in re-inforcements. Then however, the Bloodhound reveals that the heroes' efforts have gone in vain-that they had managed to save the contact beacon from their mothership, and that they had sent for re-inforcements almost half an hour ago. The demonic trio then proceed to beat up the heroes, who manage to take down all the aliens from the mothership. But the leaders escape.

Meanwhile, satellites show that an entire fleet of alien ships has approached earth, and are about to enter the atmosphere. The heroes realise that this battle might as well be their last (Kalki differs, since he believes that the Godheads won't put them through anything like this unless there was a reason). They chase the demons, and engage them in a final battle in New York city. Earth's meagre forces seem to be inefficient to take down the entire fleet, as they continue destroying towns and killing hundreds. Just when it seems that defeat is inevitable, a divine army appears, led by Lord Kartik, son of the great Skyfather God and one of the Godheads Lord Shiva. His army attack the alien fleet with all their might, and assist the millitia to route them.

The Protectors, rejuvenated by this unlikely help, then attack the demons in a final face-off. Kyzal, Dracul and the Bloodhound have already realised that victory is no longer possible, and that they underestimated earth and it's champions. Kyzal engages Bhargav in brutally physical fight, Dracul takes on Kineto, Kalki and Thunderbolt, and Adi takes on the Bloodhound. The fight causes enormous damages to the city, buildings fall, vehicles and foundations are taken down, and people get injured. After a long, tiring battle, the heroes ultimately emerge victorious. Adi knocks out the Bloodhound after a war. Thunderbolt and Bhargav manage to take down Kyzal, and Kineto, with the help of Kalki, manages to defeat Dracul. With the demons finally down, Bhargav, still in a crazed form, almost proceeds to behead them with his axe, but Lord Kartik intervenes. He says that his divine army was sent by the Godheads and the Skyfathers to aid the heroes in routing the evil force. He says, "They were confident, they told me that you would certainly win. But they sent me so that it could end with lesser bloodshed and casualties."

Lord Kartik and his army takes the demons captive to be judged for their crimes, and leaves earth via a portal conjured by Lord Brahma (supreme creator among the Godheads). Earth celebrates it's victory, at the same time realising that they needed to better defence if they were to face such an invasion again. Also, the Protectors are officially acknowledged as global heroes, although the world militia and Government organisations continue their search for them for further questioning.

The Protectors split up, since the alliance is apparently not needed anymore. Bhargav acknowledges Adi as an ally and shows his newfound respect towards him by calling him by his name for the first time. Kineto is given a uniform designed by Thunderbolt, and they leave for a "well desevred holiday" together. Kalki disappears without any prior message. Adi informs his mom that he is indeed safe. He then receives a telepathic message (not revealed to the readers), and after briefly meditating for a while, flies off towards space, exclaiming-"Yeah, we won a war. I realise now that while this is a start, it's just a start. Worse things are out there. And I got no days off. 'They're' not takig one. Neither will I..", as he leaves for a seemingly new mission.

Kilvish

Yama, the Lord of Hell, is not dead, as it seems, after his encounter with Lord Vishnu. He is alive, and well, healing, preparing, and planning. He knows about the Protectors, and how they defeated the cosmic demons, and he knows about the new hero-the Elemental. He realises that there is now a way to ensure his victory over the heavens- the Elemental, bounded to the "hell-spirit", would create a force that would destroy the Godheads with ease. But for that, he needed the Elemental beaten, and he himself was not yet strong enough to engage him. For that purpose, he desings a demonic creature from the hell-spirit, which he calls Tamraj Kilvish-the Lord of darkness. Kilvish is ordered by Yama to defeat the Elemental and bring him to hell alive.

In the meanwhile, Adi, as well as the world, has somewhat recovered from the recent battles they had faced. Adi is now in a relationship with a woman named Sati-a woman who claims to be a totally normal human being, although Adi, with his superhuman awareness, can sense that she "is more than meets the eye." Adi's peaceful retirement, is however, short-lived, when the Guardian (who had revealed his name to be Vishwamitra, one of the Prime Commanders of the Guardians) communicates with Adi, telling him to be aware of this new threat known as "Kilvish". When Adi asks for further information regarding the threat, the telepathic communication is cut-off. A bewildered Adi flies to the Temple of VISHNU, but even the artificial intelligence is unable to tell Adi what this "Kilvish" might be. Adi's senses start indicating an arriving evil force, which makes him wonder whether or not this new threat is more powerful than him.

Kilvish doesn't show himself at first. Being a spawn of hell, he can create things out of the hell-spirit, which he utilises to create demonic beings that attack Adi in his home. Adi fends them off, and destroys them with his energy blast after a hard fight. He is then subsequently assaulted by more of these demons, and he goes on to defeat all of them. He chases the last surviving demon through the city, and it is revealed that he ran straight into a trap-he is finally confronted by Kilvish himself. The Lord of Darkness challenges Adi, who engages him ferociously. However, his attacks are unable to hurt Kilvish at all. He uses almost every weapon in his arsenal-the energy blasts, matter manipulation, telepathy. But Kilvish is not bothered. Then Kilvish counters Adi's attacks. It is seen that he is a demon who thrives on a particular type of energy that is empowered by the hell-spirit. It is powerful enough to actually subdue Adi. Kilvish uses telekinesis (his primary weapon), his hell-fire blasts and his "hell-force" attacks on Adi, followed by a series of blows that makes Adi bleed. Kilvish then says-"You can endure, I will give you that. But what really is your limit? Worth finding out.." and attacks Adi with renewed vigour. The assault is eventually brought to public spectacle, when Kilvish brutally beats up Adi in public. Adi more than once tries to counter attack, but they seem to have almost no effect on Kilvish. Kilvish then proceeds to humiliate Adi in front of the world, claiming that he was a facade in the name of a hero, that he will never be good enough to actually become think he will become. Adi tries to fight back weakly, but Kilvish beats him to a pulp. He is just about to kill him when Yama teleports him back to hell, chiding him for almost killing the Elemental. Yama orders him to bring him to hell, alive. Kilvish obeys Yama's orders, and brings Adi to the Underworld, leaving the people of the earth in a frenzy of fear.

In hell, Adi is tortured by the entities that are commanded by the hell-spirit. It is revealed that killing Adi won't be the solution to Yama's problems. Yama needed Adi's soul to absorb the hell-spirit to turn him into a monster- a "God-slayer". And physical death was not the way. Yama revealed to Adi that they will "take his soul". And then began a severe test where Adi's soul had to resist the dark energy of hell. The effort makes him tremondously weak. Being in hell, is cannot communicate with Vishwamitra. Although Adi uses his inner strength to fight back, after some time, he grows tired and starts giving in. Yama is delighted, as he wathces Adi's psyche and soul struggling against all sorts of monsters and entities in the darkest pits of hell. Adi is about to lose, when he remembers his father's words about hell being a "hall that feeds on everything that is bad", and that the only way to counter it is to think of "everything good in this world."

Taking the inspiration, Adi fights off the psychic forces, and he awakens, ready to get back to the world. Kilvish, who had already seen this coming, had in the meantime, started absorbing more of the hell-spirit, that made him even more powerful than before. All this while, Adi was fighting off the guards of hell, and looking for a way out. He came face to face with the weak Yama, and after immobolising him with an energy blast, uses his "Passage to Earth" to get out of the Underworld. The effort almost drains him of all his energy. Kilvish attempts to follow him. Yama orders Kilvish to bring him back, but Kilvish reveals that he is now strong enough to harness the power of the hell-spirit by himself. He no longer relied on Yama, and he makes it clear that he no longer owes any allegiance to him. With these words, Kilvish goes to earth to finish off the Elemental.

Adi doesn't get much chance to recoup. Wasting precious moments he could've used to ask for help, he phoned Sati and asked her to go to an address (later revealed to be Kalki's). He doesn't get the chance to talk much, though, as he is assaulted by a re-energised Kilvish. Adi knows that he cannot survive this battle, but he tries to telepathically inform his teammates about it, and that "this might be my last ride. You need to do everything you can to destroy this thing. Everything."

Adi engages Kilvish in a brutal fight, he tries his best, and at a point, it seems that he might stand a chance. Then Kilvish decides to end this "for good", and he once again starts beating up Adi. Adi, in a final effort, uses all his energy to fire an energy blast, which manages to stun Kilvish and actually hurt him for the first time. He weakly smiles, and says, "See, at the end of the day, even you bleed."

An enraged Kilvish then proceeds to decimate Adi, and then fire a hell-blast. Adi takes the full blow, and he dies. His body then disappears into a mystic light, as a stunned Bangalore watches on. Kilvish thinks that he has finally killed the world's greatest defender, and he proclaims that soon, he is going to "take it all".

The Kilvish saga now continues for sometime with Adi out of the equation. Adi, apparently dead, is actually alive-when he finds back consciousness, he finds himself in an another dimension, which is loater revealed as the city of the Guardians themselves. Vishwamitra, one of the Prime Guardians, and his friend in a dual capacity, greets Adi to the city of 'Pariha'. Vishwamitra tells Adi that for the time being, he will train with the Guardians in Pariha, so that he can succesfully defeat Kilvish once he gets back. He learns that in Pariha, there are different strata of the Guardians-some are Brahmins, who are nigh-omniscient, some are warriors, nigh-invincible, and some are sages (like Vishwamitra), who are both warriors and pundits with great power. Adi informs Vishwamitra that Kilvish is more powerful than he is, and no matter how much training he undergoes, it is doubtful whether he can beat him. Vishwamitra replies optimistically, saying that Kilvish is potent, but not invincible. He may be almost as powerful as some of the Guardians, and more than Adi himself, but he is evil, and evil is destroyed sooner or later. Adi, fuelled by this idea, starts training with the warrior-Guardians, most notably by Lord Kartik himself in a session.

While Adi trains with the Guardians, the world is falling apart as Kilvish carries on his rampage throughout the world.For weeks now, the Protectors try to stop his advance and growing powers, but with no avail. The rest of the Protectors try to stop him, but they are beaten again and again. Kilvish, now more powerful than ever, starts a new game-he converts the heroes into his personal slaves. The first to fall prey to him is Axe-Man, who tried to gut Kilvish with his axe in a careless effort, ultimately resulting in him being turned into another hell-walker. The next victim is Thunderbolt, and then Kineto. Lord Kalki barely manages to escape by hitting him with a Power Arrow with enough energy that leveled the entire town where the fight was taking place (fortunately it was much evacuated). Realising that the fight is slowly slipping out of their hands, Kalki prays to Lord Vishnu, begging for guidance. The Lord informs him that everything is happening according to the 'divine-plan', and that Kalki must not lose hope and fight on. Kalki, Big Trunk, Eagle-Eye and Lionheart are the only resistance that is still keeping Kilvish at bay. All this while, the other three have been fighting Kilvish's henchmen in different parts of the country with the millitary. Kalki, realising that India is not all that he wants, immediately calls the rest for a re-grouping. They talk the matter over, and decide that since Kilvish is Yama's own creation, maybe it is only Yama himself who could help them beat Kilvish. While Lionheart thought it wouldn't be wise to forge alliance with an enemy, Big-Trunk assures them that this is the only plausible option they have left. With help from Lord Brahma, the team travels to the Underworld to consult with Yama.

In the Underworld, they find that Yama is now a mere prisoner, and that Kilvish has turned the entire Patal-Sena (Hell-army) against him (Yama). The heroes steal their way to the prison of hell, and manage to free Yama. For this, Yama agrees to help them by telling them the only thing he can tell about Kilvish-it is going to take nothing but a miracle to defeat him. When Big-Trunk threatens to gut "the old man in half with his fire breathing dragon" (minigun), Yama tells them that Kilvish is fuelled by the Hell-Spirit, and only if the Hell-Spirit is drained from him that he can be weak enough to be hurt. When asked what it's gonna take to drain the Hell-Spirit out of Kilvish, he replies that only a powerful demon from the Underworld can do it, which in this instance is himself. The heroes refuse blatantly to trust him. They claim that if Yama regains his powers, he is going to finish what he started before. Yama, however, gives his word that he owes them a favour, and that he will be true to his word, that is, if they manage to defeat him, Yama will go back to Hell to recapture control of his kingdome. They form an uneasy alliance, and they head out of Hell, after Yama retrieves a gadget that he developed to drain the Hell-Spirit from others and inject it in his own body.

Adi trains with the Guardians extensively, learning more about his powers and how to utilise them in a better way. In spite of his rigorous practice, he realises that it still isn't enough to defeat Kilvish. Finally, he asks Vishwamitra what they should do about it. Vish replies that "there is a plan to everything", and that Adi will get a "boost" before his fight with Kilvish.

By now, Kilvish has aptured almost the entire world with his powers, and the heroesattack him in a final stand, aided by Yama. Big-Trunk tries to hold off the hell-spirit-fuelled Kineto, Thunderbolt and Axe-Man with help from Lionheart, who unleashes his ''rage-mode'' to aid him. Kalki, Eagle-Eye and Yama fight Kilvish himself. Incapacitating Eagle-Eye easily, Kilvish focuses on Kalki and Yama, whom he calls a "back-stabber and a traitor" for siding with the enemyof the cause. Yama replies that only he is worthy of the power that Kilvish possesses, and tells him that he is going to destroy him today. Kalki gives Yama cover to set up his energy drainer on Kilvish with a bombardment of power arrows, which stun Kilvish, and then Yama activates the machine, starting the draining process.

During this time, Vishwamitra is informed by the Godhead that it is time to send Adi back to finish the war. VIsh tells Adi that it is time for him to end it. When Adi says that he is still not as powerful as Kilvish, Vishy reveals that Adi is going to get a power-up: a portion of Vishwamitra's own power, that is going to help him to level Kilvish. Adi thanks the Guardians for the enlightenment he received in this world, and promises to come back someday, to which VIshwamitra curtly replies, "Let's hope you won't have to, ever again." With this, Adi is sent through a portal, ten times stronger than before, back to earth, and he flies off for his rematch.

Back in the battle, Yama has drained some of Kilvish's energy, and the attack seems to work temporarily, but the hell-spirit-fuelled Axe-Man destroys the machine with his axe, rendering Yama and Kalki helpless. Big-Trunk is also cornerned by the joint attack of Kineto and Thunderbolt. Kilvish slays Yama and proceeds to kill Kalki, when Adi appears.

Essentially, Kilvish cannot believe that the Elemental is still alive. When asked how this was possible, Adi replies that Kilvish is evil, and at the end, evil always gets their "ass handed to them by the forces of good." Adi engages Kilvish in a climactic final battle, that shatters the foundations. After a long, bloody and extremely close fight,Adi pummels Kilvish down, just the way the latter had in their previous battle. Kilvish, realising that it's over, tries to kill off the rest of the team in a dying attempt, but Adi stops him, and breaks off his hands. Seeing that the villain isin immense pain, Adi says that he forgives him for everything that he has done to the world and that he is going to put an end to his suffering. Adi then uses the power granted to him by Vishwamitra to fire a tremondously powerful energy blast, tha destroys Kilvish, cleansing him off the face of the earth. With his death, his army of hell-spirit-conjured demons also die, and the Protectors are made free from the influence of the hell-spirit. With that, VIshwamitra's power leaves Adi, and he silently thanks the Guardians for their help.

The world once again attempts to recover from another deadly attack that nearly took down mankind once again, and recognise the efforts of the Protectors and warmly applauds their efforts. Adi re-establishes his relation with Sati, who is overjoyed at his resurrection. After a long time, it seems that finally, he has found peace.