Bayo stood there, looking at the destroyed house. The people who killed Aunty Mo probably burnt it after he disappeared. There was nothing but ashes and debris. He was bold, returning there! And not just because the people who attempted to kill him could have still been there, but the tragedy that befell him that day was awakening. He'd always known that he had no friends. But it actually meant something now that Aunty Mo was dead. He stood over the burnt house, looking around at items that were still recognizable. He then spotted Aunty Mo's jewelry box and picked it up. He opened it, and a chain immediately caught his eye. It was a cross-chain made of gold, with a blue gemstone set at its center. He removed it from the box and put it around his neck. He had seen Aunty Mo wear this chain only a few times, and those few times were on special occasions. It was probably special to her, and so it was special to him. He took the cross on the chain and kissed it - a way to cherish her memory. Whoever those people were, wherever they lived, Bayo determined in his heart that he was going to avenge Aunty Mo. Bayo soon observed the headlights of an approaching car. He then rushed to hide behind one of the walls of the collapsed house that was still standing. 'Bayo! It's Sade!' Sade said after she came down from the car holding a flashlight. Bayo then made himself visible by coming out from behind the wall. 'Hey!' Bayo said, his face all gloomy.
'What...happened...here?' Sade asked, looking very concerned.
'Well,' Bayo said, turning around, 'Let's just say some people came looking for me!'
'I told you not to tell anybody!' Sade said, sounding sorta dissapointed.
'I didn't tell anyone!' Bayo shouted. He paused for a few seconds and then continued. 'Not even, Aunty Mo! And now she's dead.' Bayo said in a more subtle tone. Sade paused for a second, feeling genuine pity for Bayo. She pulled him in for a hug, and he accepted it.
'I....I'm sorry!' Sade said, rubbing his back with her hands!
'It's okay.' Bayo said, feeling comforted. 'As long as I'm going to make them pay!' He added
She pulled away from him slowly and looked into his eyes. She knew for a fact that he felt anguish. She then said 'Have you never heard that with great power comes great responsibility?' Bayo looked at her and rolled his eyes, softly making a 'Pftt' sound with his lips. 'Where's Chike, by the way?' He asked, looking around for him! 'That's why I'm here!' Sade said, looking serious.
They got into the car, Sade in the driver's seat and Bayo beside her, and she drove to HQ.
'So, what's up with Chike?' Bayo asked after they'd reached their destination and were already inside!
'Chike was kidnapped!' Sade said, gaining access to a hidden compartment in an abandoned building in Lekki, by scanning her palm on an invisible scanner. The compartment opened, and a spectrum of white light entered the previously dark room from the HQ hidden behind the door. They entered the room, and the door closed itself behind them.
'What?' Bayo asked, looking incredibly concerned! 'How?' he added, searching for answers and a solid reaction on her face.
'I don't know! All I know is that he was kidnapped and now he needs our help.' Sade said, after she stopped walking and turned to face Bayo, who was following closely behind her.
'So, what do we do?' Bayo asked, still looking concerned.
'Teleport to the training room now!' Sade commanded, lowering her eyelashes to give a stern look.
'Umm... O-kay!' Bayo said, even though he knew that he had no control over his abilities. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to disappear. Nothing! He still stood there in an awkward position. 'I've got nothing!' He said, throwing his hands in the air to stress his sentence.
'Okay, then, release an orb towards me!' Sade said, still standing in her original position.
'What the hell is an orb?' Bayo asked with a dumbfounded face.
'Is this how you intend to rescue Chike if he was actually captured?' Sade asked, feeling disappointed at Bayo.
'So, Chike was not kidnapped?' Bayo asked just to be sure.
'That's not the point!' Sade said, shaking her head. 'You are never going to be ready for a mission if you can't even channel your energy to create an orb.' She added.
'Then teach me.' Bayo said, almost cutting in.
'No one can teach you how to use your own powers. We can only assist.' Sade said, eyeing him.
'Then how did you master your own powers?' Bayo asked.
'Everyone is different!' Sade said.
'Just tell me.' Bayo insisted.
'I mastered my powers when I realized that they only used to go off when I was angry. I concentrated on aligning my emotions with the energy surrounding any object I wanted to move and...I moved it. But as I said, everyone is different.' Sade said, making a pencil that rested on the transparent counter they were standing in front of, to float in the air. Sade then suggested, 'Try thinking about how you discovered your powers in the first place.'
Bayo stood still, closed his eyes, and concentrated his mind to picture Wile slapping him. He thought about the anger he felt at the time. He then remembered the fear that gripped him when he was about to get beaten at the market square, and when the men who came to his house to kill him were pursuing him. His final recollection was the moment that the cruel man shot Aunty Mo dead. He felt anger, pain, and fear all at once. Sade started to notice little blue sparks flutter around his body.
'Concentrate that energy in your hand!' Sade said softly, becoming fully aware of his power. Bayo did as she said, and all the sparks started speeding towards the clenched fist in his right hand. He then opened his eyes and his fist to find a blue, floating electrical orb resting on his palm. He noticed that once he was calm, the sparks stopped flowing into the orb from his body. 'Whoa!' Bayo said in absolute awe. Sade smiled at Bayo, indicating that she was proud. 'What do I do with it?' Bayo asked with excitement. 'Throw it,' she said, pointing at an open window high above the walls. Bayo threw it and mistakenly destroyed a part of the wall. 'We got to work on that aim!' said Sade, grinding her teeth thereafter. 'Come on, I think you're ready for the training room.' Sade continued, walking towards the invisible elevator. 'Try not to fall down this time.' Sade added, looking at Bayo sarcastically as he walked towards the elevator that was now open. Bayo heaved a big sigh and went in, holding his breath.
* * *
Chike was in the training room all this time waiting for them to arrive. When the elevator door opened, Sade walked out laughing, and Bayo was on the floor panting. Chike smirked and shook his head with a steel pole in his hand. Bayo got out of the elevator, adjusting his sweatshirt thereafter. Chike then threw a steel pole at him, which he caught. 'What am I doing with this?' Bayo asked, spinning the pole in his hand.
'Assume a duel position!' Chike said, grabbing another steel pole from a bag filled with them that rested on the wall behind him. Sade walked through the door next to Bayo and closed it behind her. Bayo then walked farther away from the elevator door, which was now closed and invisible.
'What is that supposed to mean?' Bayo asked nonchalantly, still spinning the pole in his hand. Chike smirked again and attacked Bayo. He held his pole at mid-point, spinning it in the air with both hands. Bayo moved out of the way speedily, and Chike's attempted strike with the pole hit the floor.
'Whoa....' Bayo said, looking concerned at how fast the pole moved. 'What are you doing?' Bayo added.
'This is your training, and you'd better take it seriously if you don't want to get hurt!' Chike said, chuckling and dragging the end of his pole on the floor, making a screeching sound. Bayo let out a little sigh and stood, opening his legs and bending his back a little. Chike smiled, sensing some seriousness in Bayo. He then jumped with his pole high above his head with the intention of hitting Bayo. Bayo raised his own pole to block Chike's attack. The poles made a clanging sound as they hit each other. Sade then came out of the room she initially entered, dressed in a sleek black long-sleeve compression top and tight trainers. The compression top had two holes where her thumbs slid comfortably, and her black braids were pulled into a neat ponytail. 'Better take it easy on him!' She said, walking over to a brown bench and taking a seat. Chike was still hanging above Bayo's head, their hands still forcing their poles against each other. Their facial expressions clearly showed that they were exerting a lot of energy. They soon pushed each other away as the energy between their bodies intensified. They regained their stamina and attacked each other again at the same time. Their poles clanged as they maneuvered their way through the training room. Chike, who obviously had more experience, beat Bayo a few times. But Bayo was a natural. He became calm and studied Chike's moves, learning his attack patterns and counterattack moves. In no time, Bayo gained the upper hand on the battlefield. Sade was visibly impressed by how quickly he studied Chike's moves and predicted his attacks. Chike soon became furious at the fact that a newbie was defeating him, and Sade was cheering him on. Chike flew back after an attack of great magnitude was launched on him by Bayo. He then threw his pole on the ground and said, 'That does it! No more poles! Combat by fist!' cleaning the sweat on his forehead with his arm and turning his palms into fists at his face level. 'You sure you wanna do this?' Bayo asked. 'You know I'm already beating you!' he added. 'Shut up and fight!' Chike said, his anger building. 'This is going to be fun.' Sade said, adjusting herself on the bench to enjoy the match. Chike threw the first blow, sending Bayo to the ground. Chike smiled, feeling powerful while Bayo stood up from the ground, jumping to energize himself. 'Whatchu gonna do? Huh?' Chike asked, seeing that Bayo was now jogging towards him with fists ready to blow. Bayo threw his first blow to the right side of Chike's face with his right hand. Chike was fast enough to dodge the blow and grab his hand, bending it towards his back. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow!' Bayo sounded continuously as Chike attempted to dislocate his bones. Chike let Bayo go and pushed him to the ground. Bayo then got up again, stretching the affected hand and swinging it around. Chike laughed once again, doubting Bayo's abilities. Bayo attempted to land an unexpected kick on Chike by pretending to want to punch him. Chike got carried away trying to stop the punch, and Bayo kicked him in the ribs. Chike felt a sudden pain, but as excruciating as it was, he didn't express his pain by screaming. He twitched his head to the right as Bayo's leg was now trapped between his ribs and arm. He swung Bayo around, throwing him across the room. Bayo crashed into the floor, his pain building. Chike shook his head in disappointment and walked towards his training bag, which rested on a table. He was done with the fight as he didn't consider Bayo a worthy opponent. Bayo lay on the floor for some seconds, rolling in pain. 'Are you okay?' Sade shouted from across the room where she sat. Bayo did not respond, but all of a sudden, stood up with blue eyes. He was boiling at the fact that Chike had beaten him, and since he had powers, he was going to teach him a lesson. He created an orb with his right hand, intending to throw it at Chike, who was drinking from a water bottle. Immediately, Sade noticed it, and she used her powers to push Chike out of harm's way. Chike fell onto the floor, his water bottle leaving his hand, and the orb destroyed the exact spot Chike stood, leaving smoke and dust to circulate in the air. Sade shouted, 'What the heck?' and Bayo, who was still standing with his hand that created the orb, pointing towards the direction Chike previously stood with blue eyes, came back to his senses and blinked away the shiny blue colour in his eyes, dropping his hand. 'I'm so sorry!' Bayo said, realizing what he'd done! Sade then ran her hands through her hair in frustration, and Chike was still on the floor, breathing heavily. Chike then got up from the floor, picking his water bottle up in the process. Bayo ran towards him to apologise, and Chike said, 'Nice aim!' while dusting some sand off his body and maintaining eye contact with Bayo.