Previously on Talents Activate…

Chiamaka, a lady who did not believe in the supernatural, has been opened into a new reality, a world of beings able to manipulate blades, wield flames, invade minds, and affect different forces. A mysterious man, Ezeogu, having the probability of being her father wants to take her for reasons best known to him but her friends resist. After a battle to save her life, ID comes out victorious, saving Chiamaka from the swordsmith, Ife. Meanwhile, a raging occurred in the Eastern region, Ikeoku and Ezeogu make their move, passing a message for Nelo to deliver.

Now…

“Time Up!!!” the test administrator shouts.

With a deep sigh, Chiamaka packs all her papers together, sluggishly stands up and walks up front, submitting her test papers to the examiner. She proceeds to take her bag and exits the room.

“Wow, first time I’m seeing you finish so late and having this bothersome look on your face,” Didi, a female friend, says. Didi has all-back braid hairstyle which is packed at the back like a bun, dark brown eyes, and smooth brown skin, having quite a slim physique. She is dressed in a casual grey V-neck bodycon dress having elbow length of sleeves and an overall knee length. Also a pair of medium heel black ankle boots having some neck accessories on her too.

“Huh? Guess the test was that tough then,” Chiamaka responds.

“Yeah. That’s what you’ll say then the results are out and boom!!! You aced it,” Didi replies.

Chiamaka laughs and shakes her head.

“I presume you’re off to some fun place seeing as you’re dressed ready for it,” Chiamaka states.

“Haha. Can’t a girl just dress to look good again? Anyway, yeah I have nothing left for the day so I’m off for some fun. I’m heading out with Osi and some others, care to join?” Didi replies with an offer, throwing her hands up while she expressed about having fun.

“Tempting,” Chiamaka says but spots Tobi waiting for her at a corner.

“However, I’ll have to decline today. Have some stuff to take care of,” she adds.

Didi follows Chiamaka’s eyes and catches a glimpse of Tobi.

“Oh I see. Seems like a new catch, interesting. I can see why you’re busy. He’s cute though,” Didi says with a smile, raising her brows at Chiamaka in excitement.

Chiamaka laughs and says, “It’s not what you think babe. Go have fun, catch you later. My regards to Osi and the rest.”

Didi laughs back and responds, “It’s never what we think until it is. Thought you’d end up with ID. I knew Tomiwa wasn’t the one for you. He was sweet and all but after hearing of his sudden disappearance, just goes to show you how men are. Anyways tell ID, I said hi and that he’s owing me.”

“Sudden disappearance?” Chiamaka thinks to herself.

“Oh yeah that’s what has been circulating around in the ordinary world. This also supernatural stuff is still a bit confusing,” she says within herself.

“Sure thing. I’ll tell him,” Chiamaka replies. Didi exits the building and Chiamaka walks to meet up with Tobi.

“Following me about now, are you?” Chiamaka says, getting to Tobi.

“Now that would make me a stalker,” Tobi replies. Both of them smile at each other.

“So what’s up?” Chiamaka asks as they begin walking out of the building where the tests were held.

“Nothing much. Had a bit of work to clear up,” Tobi answers.

“Work? Yeah forgot you’re already done with school. What exactly do you do?” Chiamaka inquires.

“Haha. Yeah I am. You’re almost done anyway so we’re not that far apart. I work as a developer or what you call a programmer. I develop apps on different OS platforms and sell them. I also develop sites and sometimes work as a consultant or troubleshooter for some clients,” he replies.

“Wow. That’s awesome. You should really meet my mom. I’m sure she’ll love to chat with you. She might even hire you on the spot,” Chiamaka responds. Tobi laughs.

“And you? How was your day?” Tobi asks.

“Well had a test, wasn’t really prepared for it so I gave it the little I could. Definitely not my best at all. I feel so bad like I flunked it already,” Chiamaka answers.

“ID told me you’re an efiko (Slang for intelligent person) and Ifunanya confirmed it. I’m sure your average still surpasses most of your peers’ best,” Tobi states.

“Does that matter? Do I lower my standards all because others have a lower standard? I was never in competition with anybody except myself. So when I don’t give my best, I feel really bad about it knowing I could have done better,” Chiamaka replies.

“Wow that’s…actually a good answer. You’re really smart you know. Smart and beautiful, that’s interesting,” he says, looking surprised at Chiamaka.

“Careful now, so you don’t fall in love with me,” she responds and laughs.

“Don’t push your luck,” he replies, smiling back.

“Anyway, being smart alone is just for the natural. From what I’ve seen in the supernatural, being smart is not enough. Power is needed,” Chiamaka states.

“Well, take it slow, is all I can say. A desperate drive for power is dangerous and being smart is power in its own way,” Tobi responds.

“Easy for you to say. You grew up having a concrete evidence of this phasic realm, phasic energy, advanced talents and all. It’s so difficult finding out now, you know. Do you know how difficult it is to teach a grown man dy/dx without proper foundation? It’s like me talking to you about quantum physics when you’ve never delved into that field,” she replies.

“I totally understand. Your case is a rare case to be sincere however, don’t think we’ve had it easy. You got to live life a little, knowing what it means to be ordinary, most of us never had a ‘normal’ childhood. Some grew up knowing how to fight, kill and conquer. Some were born into danger and their very lives have been in that danger, just because they have certain supernatural properties. You at least know what a bit of peace is, some don’t. So just because we’ve had these powers since doesn’t mean we’ve been living in ‘heaven’,” Tobi explains.

There is a moment of silence between the two as they keep strolling down the departmental road.

“Awkward,” Tobi whispers, with his hands in his pocket.

“Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking. I guess I couldn’t see it that way concerning you guys. So tell me about you guys, your lives, abilities, backgrounds and the rest. Why did ID and Ifunanya even choose to keep an eye on me even when I was ordinary and knew nothing of the phasic world? Why do they do it for others as well, protecting the ordinary humans and at the end, there is no recognition or gratitude given?” Chiamaka responds.

“Well about knowing us, I can mostly speak for myself. As for the protecting part, I guess it’s just something we decided on our own. We have the power, ordinary humans don’t, so why not? Different individuals come together and create agencies. Someone has to protect the weak right? ” he answers as they enter into one of the school’s cafeteria and take a seat at a corner.

“As for recognition, the people would probably think it’s magic or witchcraft and start conducting deliverance services everywhere,” he adds and laughs.

Chiamaka laughs back and says, “But isn’t it magic after all?”

“A good question. No it isn’t. It’s more of a divine gift. The same way we classify some supernatural things as miracles, there is a difference. Sure there’s magic but it’s totally different from phasic powers. The same way, sorcery and the dark arts are totally different from what we display. That does not mean that there aren’t Advanced Talents who practice these dark arts, there are,” he answers.

“I see now. That’s a good explanation. I was starting to think of how I’ll tell my mother I have witchcraft powers now,” Chiamaka says and laughs.

“So advanced talents all stay hidden and fight only in the phasic dome?” she asks.

“Apparently not. There are some advanced talents who use their abilities in everyday life. It’s their gift, as long as it’s not harmful or disruptive, the agency that has been established to protect the ordinary humans will not disturb. For example, I once had a friend, don’t know where he is now, but he had the talent of a special drum. Whenever, he went for a wedding ceremony, he would say ‘talent: activate’ and start using his advance talent. The people would just laugh thinking it was part of his act and when he played, his abilities created a euphoric feeling to all the hearers such that they couldn’t resist to meet his demands. More like an illusion thing but he never demanded anything out of the ordinary and so, the agency that usually deals with villainous advanced talents would just let him go. In the same way, some can use their advanced talents to their advantage, someone who has the ability of moving at high speeds, moving so fast in an exam hall and spying for all the answers, stuff like that,” Tobi answers.

“Oh Okay. I see now. Was your friend’s name Akin?” Chiamaka asks and laughs.

“Huh? Akin? No. why?” Tobi replies.

“Cause you know, Akin the drummer boy?” Chiamaka responds and shrugs.

“Oh. You were trying to crack a joke, I see,” Tobi comments.

“Wow. What a subtle way of being sarcastic. Nice one Tobi,” Chiamaka states and claps softly, smiling.

“Ifunanya already explained to me about how most of this stuff began. She told me about the Unknowns, the Crests and Advanced Talents. So what else goes on in this whole supernatural ish?” Chiamaka asks.

“That’s a good question. Well everyday life aside and also fighting against different villains, be it Unknowns, Crests or advanced talents, some engage in adventures. They venture into the Phasic Realm and see what can be found there. There are also tournaments held locally and globally. There is the World Tournament that a lot of people look forward to. We’re hoping to participate in the next one and probably win,” Tobi answers and shrugs at the end of the last sentence.

“World Tournament? You mean there are advanced talents all over the world?” Chiamaka inquires.

Tobi chuckles and responds, “Of course there are. Did you think we only existed in Nigeria? The entire world has Crests and Advanced Talents of various kinds. The thing is that we are very few in number when compared to the world’s population. However, Unknowns that exist in the Phasic Realm are quite numerous and the Phasic realm is quite large; some say it’s as large as the universe itself.”

“I see. So much information, wow. You haven’t told me about yourself yet. Shoot, I’m all ears,” Chiamaka says, crossing her legs with her arms folded and looking at Tobi.

“Yeah true. You know you can pretty much hold a good conversation without fiddling with your phone, that’s really nice,” Tobi responds and Chiamaka smiles.

“So yeah about me. Feels like an interview. Well what can I say? I’m Tobi as you know, I come from a family of four, that’s my dad, mum, my elder sister and I. We’ve always been aware of advanced talents as both my parents possess supernatural abilities. Umm, my sister kind of left the house when she was very young, probably around thirteen or so. She’s quite the talented lady, though I haven’t seen her since and so I’ve been searching for her for some time now, hoping to find her one of these days. Our abilities differ. As for mine, my advanced talent is Shockwave or as I like to call it Great wave (Igbi nla – Yoruba for great wave). When activated, the symbol lamda (λ) shows up, especially on my talent tool, the Great Wave Hammer. The ability has to do with wavelength; by detecting the wavelengths of different phasic energies, it can affect those phasic energies. One of the attributes is that it acts like a power EMP by disrupting wavelengths, though having different levels of functionalities such as Cancel, Hibernate, and Shutdown. Another attribute is that it enables generation of kinetic waves for pushing of objects. I can confidently tell you these because even if one has such information about my powers, it doesn’t really change much of the outcome, at least when fighting me. If you’d like to know, my hobbies are playing games, basketball and probably relaxing,” Tobi says, describing a bit about himself and chuckling at the end of the speech.

“Wow. Intriguing. Your ability sounds so cool. I like to watch basketball sometimes and I’m sure I’ll beat you in any car race game. Yes I do play some car race games,” Chiamaka responds with a giggle.

“So what about your sister? Aren’t your parents looking for her?” she asks.

“Well, who knows? Her leaving was like an agreement from both sides. My parents hardly ever use their abilities. They’d prefer to live as ordinary humans and my sister strongly opposed that. After a while, being strong to a certain extent, she left. My dad however did send a lot of money to her which was could serve her for a long time. Yeah, my parents are a bit on the wealthy side though they don’t stay in Nigeria anymore. I did stay with my parents but I kept honing my abilities though with their kind, it wasn’t easy for me at all. But hey, here I am. I don’t need them anymore but I still want to find my sister,” Tobi answers.

“Wow. Sorry. That’s a bit sad. Hope you get to find her. What were her abilities?” Chiamaka inquires.

“Haha. Let’s leave that for another day. We should be heading to meet up with ID,” Tobi replies.

“Hmm. Sure but before we go, can you tell me, what possible reason could ID and Ifunanya have had to watch over me even before I awakened to my advanced talents?” Chiamaka questions.

“Quite the curious one, aren’t you? Well…from what I know about ID, he probably was just protecting you as he did any other ordinary human and must have spotted even the slightest possibility of active phasic energy from you. Since he made contact and became friends with you, then something must really have gotten his interest. His ability, Impact, can detect even the tiniest bit of energy,” Tobi explains.

“As for the others, this I can say. Aisha is an Advanced Talent who has the ability of Storm allowing her to manipulate lightning and wind from what I’ve seen. Tomisin is also an Advance Talent having the ability of teleportation, accurate aim and energy blasts in form of bullets and arrows. She also can sense and scan in a 360 degree style within a specified range. Uche, as you’ve experienced, has the advanced talent of telepathy but I think he is also telekinetic and yeah he kind of has a genius intellect. Ifunanya is referred to as the Crest of the Igbo deity, Anywanu which means she can manipulate and use sun based abilities. ID is an Advanced Talent, having the ability of Impact, that is, he can influence the cause and effect of things by either boosting or reducing their impact. That’s all for now,” Tobi states.

“I see. You’re quite knowledgeable in this supernatural stuff. I didn’t even know Ifunanya is a Crest. Aisha seems like someone I’d flow with on a normal day but she’s kinda scary, man. Is ID single by the way or he has a secret girlfriend?” Chiamaka asks and laughs.

“Hahaha,” Tobi laughs out loud and they both stand to leave but quickly towards a nearby big flatscreen television to view the entertainment news.

From the TV…

“Beautiful afternoon to our wonderful viewers, I remain Edima Okon, this is GLN. On entertainment today, the crew from the movie ‘Big Shot’ return as they prepare for a great night at The Lofty Place in Victoria Island. Don’t be told you missed, get your tickets, get your bae or not but head over to The Lofty Place at 6:00 PM and have a great time with the movie crew. Models like the beautiful Onyinye Egwu, the big and handsome Rume Davids and other awesome stars will be present. Comedian Victor E. popularly known as VE will be there live. Music performances from Davida, Tife, Laolu, Lola and other amazing voices. Hope to vibe with you there…,” the news anchor announces.

“Oh my. This is quite the surprise,” Tobi says, quickly picks his mobile phone and dials ID’s number.

At ID’s place…

RING! RIINNGGG!!

ID picks up his phone and answers, “What’s up man. I know why you called, I just saw the news.”

“Yeah. Your ‘girlfriend’ is back,” Tobi teases.

“She’s not my girlfriend man. That aside, we could actually use her help and that of a new friend I also saw on the TV,” ID responds.

“Whatever. I’m heading back now, with Chiamaka,” Tobi replies.

“Having fun now, are we? Alright no worries,” ID says. He and Tobi laugh. They end the call.

An hour later, there is a fierce knock on the door…

KNOCK! KNOCK!! KNOCK!!!

“Why the furious knock Tobi?” ID grumbles as he walks to open the door.

Once he opens the door, he is a bit surprised at the person at the door.

“Nelo!!!” he gently exclaims and his voice slowly fades out.

“Wow. Just wow. We haven’t seen for a while now and that’s how we get to greet each other now,” Nelo rants, walking into the house like a boss, dropping a small bag at the entrance for ID to carry.

ID puts his palm on his face and rubs it a little, sighs and picks up the bag.

“You just like drama,” ID states, smiles and shuts the door.

“Good to see you too, Idaneye. You should be used to that by now. You know we’re always Gs,” Nelo says and smiles as she sits on the couch. (Idaneye is the full name of ID)

“Before anything ID, there is fire on the mountain,” Nelo says.

“Run, run, run,” ID interrupts.

Nelo sighs and laughs a little. She puts on her serious face and goes on to say, “I’m serious here. Where is Ifunanya? Ikeoku has made a move. Charles, Ada, Nedu and I had a run in with him and some of associates. We lost terribly and I was lucky to escape. No, I would say, they let me get away. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Balogun, Crest of Ogun and Bisoye, Crest of Oya but they were present there too.”

“What?!” ID is surprised, having a serious look on his face this time.

“Why did they let you go?” he inquires.

“To pass a message,” Nelo answers.

Tobi and Chiamaka arrive at the apartment and Tobi uses his key to open the door. They hear the conversation between Nelo and ID and this shocks Chiamaka.

“The message is this: Ikeoku wants Ifunanya to come and meet him, bringing with her a girl named Chiamaka who is apparently the daughter of his friend, a Doctor Ezeogu. He was also present at the battle. I heard he’s a very powerful Jazz lord, a Dibiaukwu (Igbo – Great Doctor), plus there was an Unknown, a very powerful one, that was with them; probably one of the Nine Unknown mysteries that I’ve been researching on. They seem to have joined forces that is Balogun, Bisoye, Ikeoku, Ezeogu and this Unknown. Ikeoku instructed that Ifunanya should meet with an acquaintance of his whom she’s a bit familiar with, Oge and she will bring both of them to him. He already has Charles, Ada and Nedu as hostages,” Nelo states to ID.

“This is a lot and it’s bad. Really bad. A union between great forces of Crests, Advanced Talent and Unknown. What did you mean by Nine Unknown mysteries?” ID says and inquires.

Chiamaka quickly interrupts while standing at the door, screaming, “What?!”

She bangs the door with her left fist and lets out a deep sigh of sadness.

“And you are?” Nelo says, as she and ID turn their attention towards the door.

“Chiamaka,” ID says, getting up to meet her.

Tobi looks at Nelo, wondering who it is.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” he says, walking up to Nelo.

“Obviously,” Nelo says with a smile.

“Yeah. Tobi meet my childhood friend and a day one, Nelo and Nelo, meet Tobi one of my best friends. Also Nelo, here is Chiamaka,” ID says, introducing everyone to one another.

“Oh, I get now,” Nelo utters.