POWER

SATURDAY MORNING NEWS…

"good morning and welcome to Saturday morning news, my name is Chioma Ugechi." the presenter said.

"first in the headlines today is breaking news concerning the Nucron cell antidote. The operation was carried out in all schools in Abuja simultaneously and according to the report issued by Kronos labs this morning, the antidote had a 96% success rate…" she explained.

"it is also being reported that it wasn't all smooth sails, some students refused taking the antidote and resisted any form of intervention… a total of 5 students were registered as "missing" and a total of 11 students outright refused the injection and were reported to have been seen using their powers to repel school and government officials and then escaping, they were registered as "resisting intervention." she continued.

"the federal government has issued a statement regarding this issue saying… "the distribution and consumption of the Nucron cell antidote is compulsory for all students and government workers currently, all of which should be registered afterwards, we have acknowledged that some individuals have refused this and have fled their schools and or places of work, therefore, the federal government is giving these individuals till Monday morning to come forward and take the antidote or else disciplinary action will be taken when they are caught, and if they are still at large they will be regarded as public threats and will be dealt with as such."… that was the statement issued by the federal government of Nigeria this morning…" she continued.

12:47pm…

Ahmad opens his eyes, waking up from his deep slumber, his vision blurry, head aching and his entire body shaking. He slowly sat up, still configuring and composing himself. Still feeling nauseous, he stands up from his bed, looking down at himself he notices he's still in his school sports uniform, he stumbles across his room towards the toilet, he opens the door and holds the sink beside the door to stabilize himself. He stands at the sink and looks himself in the mirror while breathing heavily, he suddenly turns to the toilet seat and vomits horribly. After almost a minute of vomiting, Ahmad gets up and cleans the toilet seat with a tissue. Feeling better, he looks himself in the mirror again, his vision clearing and his headache going away, he cleans up and proceeds to take a shower. After his shower, Ahmad was feeling stronger and stronger, he then dresses up with his red t-shirt, black sweatpants and adidas slides and goes to the kitchen to have breakfast. Ahmad's mom had travelled the day before to Kano on a business trip, so the house was his till the end of the weekend. After making himself some indomie and eggs, he sits at the living room to eat, picks up his phone and opens whatsapp. He opens the group chat he has with his friends and sends a message.

GROUP CHAT

 "who de?"

SADIQ:"omo!!"

SADIQ:"that stuff don fuck me up"

UMAR:"I woke up in my bathtub"

 "guy I don vomit everything wey de my body"

NASIR:"that antidote, be like say na another sickness dem give us"

 "omo after vomiting I feel better tho"

SADIQ:"yh, me too"

NASIR:"I'm feeling strong too, maybe it had something else in it"

Forwarded- "be at the field today by 5:30, its important"

 "from G"

NASIR:"noted"

UMAR:"yes boss"

SADIQ:"ok"

They continued chatting and went on with their day until the time to meet G at the field came, they all got together at the estate gate and proceeded to go to the field.

5:27pm…

They got to the field and opened the rusty old gate to get into the compound, G was standing by the river talking on the phone. As they walked up to him, they overheard him on the phone, he was being told something that seemed important, he was unusually irritated and started pacing. The boys sat on the bench quietly and waited patiently for him to finish his phone call. A few minutes later he ended his call and faced the boys.

"how far boys" he greeted as he shook their hands one by one while they greeted back.

"we're good G, what was so important that you had to tell us?" Ahmad asked.

"hmmm… yes, I'll tell you in a minute but first… how did you guys feel after taking the antidote? Anything abnormal?" G asked.

"YES NOW!!!" Umar shouted.

"really? What happened then?" G asked.

"it didn't start immediately, it was slow but through the day we got weaker and weaker, we were barely walking, none of us saw the sunset, we all blacked out immediately we got home" Ahmad explained.

"and we all vomited when we woke up… but felt a lot better afterwards" Sadiq added.

"that antidote had more than one job, I chatted all our friends, none of them felt the way we felt" Nasir said.

"It did one job though, it took our powers" Umar said as he stood up from the bench and walked to their old targeting position.

"yeah… it was fun while it lasted though" Sadiq said.

"well atleast now you can face your academics and build your lives up." G said.

"haba G, why are talking like you're not going to miss training?" Ahmad queried.

"who said I've stopped training you… ha, training just de start(training just started)!" G exclaimed as they all laughed.

"ehhh… you're laughing? Oya jump up, start your frog jump now!!" G commanded jokingly as the boys ran off the bench to avoid him.

"haha… but your right Ahmad, I will miss that training" G admitted.

"yeah… it was SO MUCH FU…" Umar spoke as he stomped on the ground in a motion he used for attacks with his power. But suddenly the ground gave way and made a huge trench and making the ground shake in the process.

"WHAT?" Umar exclaimed in shock.

Everyone stared in shock as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. Umar pulled his leg out of the trench and stood back to see what happened

"Umar!! what did you do?" G asked in confusion.

"I… I don't…" Umar murmured. Then in disbelief he stomped his foot on the ground again, the ground gave way again and expanded the trench even more and the ground shook at his feet. Umar made a gesture with his arms which brought out a giant bolder from the trench, he then lunged forward launching the bolder into the distance and in crashing to the ground. Umar stood with a surprised but happy expression on his face but still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Upon seeing this Ahmad ran up beside Umar and in an attempt to answer his own question, lunged his hand forward as if to punch the air, firing a huge flame into the distance, as his fire blazed he smiled and stood upright. Sadiq also stepped in, making his gestures and channeling water from the river and shooting it into the distance. Nasir took a deep breath and blew a heavy and strong wind from his mouth. 

"OUR POWERS ARE BACK!!" Ahmad shouted in excitement.

"YEEEEHOOOOO" they all shouted and celebrated.

G stood back watching all that was happening, he was left shocked and speechless, he stayed silent for a few seconds while the boys confirmed their powers, he then snapped out of it and screamed "I thought you guys said you took the antidote!!!" 

"we did… maybe it didn't work or something" Sadiq said.

"my friend don't lie to me!!! you just used your powers and you're telling me you took the antidote, do I look like I'm joking?" he shouted in anger.

"G, look now…" Umar said as he pulled up his sleeve to show the mark that was left on him to indicate that he was injected.

"...we were all there, we took it!" he said as the others walked up to show G their marks.

"what?… how is… I don't understand." G stuttered in confusion.

"none of us do… but to be honest, I don't care." Ahmad said.

"you have to care oh, there is a big problem at hand!" G said in something of a panic.

"what's the problem G?" Nasir asked.

"hmmm…." G groaned as he calmed down.

"ok… when you boys came in you saw me on the phone right? I was speaking with someone that has close ears in the organization that's doing things concerning all this. Its called Kronos labs. He told me that by Monday, if the people that escaped or refused treatment do not come forward, a task force has already been formed and will be deployed to hunt down everyone who is at large and they will either capture them… or if they refuse arrest, deadly force will be used." G explained.

"whoa!" Umar exclaimed.

"yes… that's why it was so important and I didn't talk to you guys yesterday that's why I made it so important… I thought one of you may have resisted… but this is a bigger problem than that." G said.

"wait, we took the antidote already, it didn't work, so they can't do anything to us cause we haven't done anything wrong." Sadiq said.

"why are you talking like you're not a Nigerian." G asked condescendingly.

"if they find out we still have our powers after taking the antidote, they'll capture us, experiment on us and then kill us… and our families." Nasir explained.

"something like that" G said.

"so what do we do now?" Umar asked.

"you keep your mouths SHUT and you're powers OFF" G commanded.

"UNDERSTOOD" he shouted.

"YES SIR!" they all answered.

"good… we'll continue training here as usual but more quietly and carefully, but until I find out more info and a safer option for you guys, KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT!" G commanded again.

"oya start going home, rest and enjoy your weekend, we continue training on Monday… go, I'll talk to you later" he said.

They all began to walk home, excited and gitty, this new development would be a catalyst for what is to come in the future. The boys go about their weekend and enjoy themselves up until Monday morning and they go back to school with their secret lingering in their minds.

MONDAY 7:00AM…

BREAKING NEWS…

"... the federal government has deployed a team of soldiers tasked with finding and capturing all the individuals who have refused treatment of the Nucron cell. Subsequently distribution and administration of the antidote has been expanded to all commercial areas, and will soon be made a requirement for entry into most business areas…" the presenter reported. 

Excellence Secondary College.

The school had an inter-house sport event coming up and were using the entire week to conclude preparations. Because of this, everyone was dressed in their sports wears to represent their respective houses in the colours of red, blue, green and yellow. After practice, students were allowed freedom to play and do what they wanted till closing time. Some SS3 boys decided to play football with their mates, they all shared themselves into sets and started playing. 

Sadiq, James, Christina, Zainab and Georgina were in their class talking casually. Sadiq was talking to Zainab near the class teachers table while James was watching TikTok on his phone with Georgina and Christina.

"so what do you guys do there? Play ball or just sit around gisting?" Zainab asked.

"no, before we took the antidote that's where we learned to control our powers." Sadiq answered.

"oh wow. So you're good with your powers then… or were you falling behind them Nasir?" Zainab teased.

"no now, to be honest I think I had the best control of powers among us." Sadiq said.

"haha… even more than Nasir? I doubt it." Zainab shouted.

"ok maybe second best. But I'm still good though" Sadiq said.

"still good? With which powers?" Zainab interrogated.

"no no… I obviously took the antidote… I mean if still I had my powers or never took the antidote I will be very good" Sadiq claimed.

"heh… I get what you mean" Zainab giggled.

"... yeah… so what about you? Did you get good at using your powers?" Sadiq asked. Zainab stared at him for a few seconds and then rolled her eyes.

"is it really that bad?" he asked with concern.

"my dad never liked that whole Nucranium Event thing. When kids started getting powers he straight up told me that if I ever got powers I should just hide it and suppress them. I didn't know I had powers till one day I had a dream and couldn't wake up. I was fully aware that I was dreaming and I had full control of EVERY SINGLE THING." Zainab explained.

"so… you can lucid dream… I don't think that's a…"

"let me finish then…" Zainab interrupted.

"sorry… go on" Sadiq said.

"its not just that I can control my dreams completely. I can control other peoples dreams too. Yeah its like lucid dreaming but I can lucid dream with other people… against their will." Zainab continued.

"WOW… that's both mad and terrifying."Sadiq said.

"yeah it is." Zainab said.

"wait, so how did you wake up when you first got stuck?" Sadiq asked.

"well the first time my sister legit had to pour water on me and push me off my bed…. and I only woke up because I was REALLY trying to" Zainab answered.

"but the second time it happened… I somehow managed to get into my sisters dream, force her to wake up and then she woke up and then woke me up. By pouring water on me and slapping me multiple times." she continued.

"I never fully learnt how to wake up on my own though." she said.

"omo. No wonder you were so much in support to take the antidote. You hated your powers." Sadiq said. Zainab looked down and remained silent. Upon realizing, Sadiq quickly stood up to correct his words.

"ok calm down, sorry. I was just saying what I thought. But its done. You took the antidote. Its over."Sadiq said as he tried to console Zainab.

Zainab looked up at Sadiq with red eyes and a tear rolling down her a cheek. Sadiq began to panic upon seeing this and was trying to find words to console her. Regret and confusion plastered on his face, Sadiq held Zainab close and kept saying sorry. Zainab pulled back gently and looked up at him.

"i still have my powers." she whispered.

Sadiq's eyes widened with shock as Zainab revealed her secret. Seconds went by like ours as Sadiq stared at Zainab in shock. Before he said anything Christina approached them. She caught a glimpse of Zainab's face and immediately came between them.

"what happened!" she shouted as she pushed Sadiq away and then hugged Zainab.

"...uh…" Sadiq stuttered.

"guy what happened. Why is she crying?" James asked as he approached Sadiq.

"its fine, its fine… he didn't do anything." Zainab shouted as she cleaned her tears and composed herself.

"then why are you crying?" Christina asked.

"I told him." Zainab answered quietly as she stared at Christina. Christina had a confused look on her face for a few seconds, until she finally understood what Zainab meant. Her eyes widened and mouth dropped, trying to understand why Zainab did what she did. James was standing beside Sadiq confused and agitated at what was happening before him, he then turned to Sadiq.

"guy what the fuck? What did she tell you?" he asked as he pushed Sadiq making him collide with the class teachers desk and as a result making the stacked books on the table fall on the floor. One of them fell open, revealing something very interesting that caught Christina's eye. She picked up the book and took a glance at it. As she read what was on the page she made a confused expression on her face, prompting Zainab to look at what she saw. As she read what was there she also made a confused expression. James snatched the book and dropped in on the table so they could see what was there. They came together to read and upon reading what was there, they all looked at each other in confusion trying to understand what they saw.

Back at the field, Ahmad decided to sub-out and rest. Tired and drenched in sweat, he sat down on the concrete step beside the field where some other students were sitting, he began to engage in conversation with them. As he discussed with them all of a sudden the ball that others were playing with on the field smashed into his face, creating a loud and painful sound that rang in his ear and all across the field. Everyone paused in silence, Ahmad held his cheek which turned red from the impact. He turned his face towards the field, and standing a few meters away was Bala who had a devilish grin on his face. Upon seeing this Ahmad was consumed with rage, he got up angrily and started marching towards Bala. Just before Ahmad could get to Bala, two other students got between them to stop them from fighting, but determined and and at level 10 fury, Ahmad pushed passed and launched himself at Bala, who was also ready for a fight. They both wrestled to the ground, each throwing blows at one another and barely connecting. A teacher came around and started screaming at them to stop. Eventually, a number of students surrounded them, pulling and dragging the two off each other. As they were being separated, Ahmad locked eyes with Bala as they got up from the ground, then in a split second, Bala's eyes flashed with purple lightning, following a devilish grin as he stared Ahmad down. Upon seeing this Ahmad stopped struggling, his face went from angry to shocked, unable to comprehend what he had just seen. 

Once they were separated and everything had calmed down, the teacher who was there took them to the principal at the admin building to serve the punishment for fighting. the principal and most of the staff were busy, so Ahmad and Bala were told to go back to their classes and their case will be reopened when the staff were ready. 

The two walked out of the admin building, walking in complete silence just inches away from each other. On reaching the front of the building, they took separate paths, Bala walked back to the field and Ahmad went to his class. As he walked, his mind was flooded with questions and thoughts as to what he saw minutes ago. 

The closing time bell rang as Ahmad walked into his class where everyone was packing up their things and simultaneously rumbling about his fight with Bala. He approached his friends who were waiting on his arrival.

"boss man!!! I greet you." Umar shouted as he saw Ahmad.

"omo! We should organize a fight between you two, pay-per view fight… we go sell out ooo!!!" James teased as he approached.

"I swear guy… but seriously bro, what happened between you guys?" Sadiq asked as Ahmad sat on his chair. Ahmad ignored their questions and remained silent with a stoic facial expression.

"guy talk now, or is it because Bala beat you?" Umar said. Ahmad looked up at him and noticed something on Umar's face.

"why's there powder on you nose?" he asked. Umar raised his eyebrow and the swiped his nose with his hand, cleaning off the white powder stain.

"It's from the canteen area, they're still fixing the place." he answered. 

"stop deflecting bro. What caused the fight between you and Bala?" James shouted.

"you all know what the hell happened, stop asking stupid questions James." Ahmad yelled back.

"why're you getting angry, am I the one that sent you to fight?… I just wanted to hear the full story from you." James said. Christina and Zainab heard the commotion and approached the group.

"what's going on?" Christina asked.

"if you want to know the full story, go and ask Bala himself or go and ask the few dozen people that were there when it happened." Ahmad argued as he got up from his chair and grabbed his bag.

"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit James… just let it go." he said as he stormed out of the class. James stood there aggrieved as the others followed shortly after that. On the way out, Sadiq looked back and made an eye at Zainab who also made an eye as she was picking her things.

MAMA AYO'S CANTINE

2:51PM…

The boys are seated at one of the tables outside the canteen. Ahmad is calming down while Umar continues to question him. Eventually, Sadiq decides to speak up but is cut off by Nasir.

"GUYS!" he yells as they all turn to him.

"look." he commands as he points to a table a few meters away from them.

They all look and set their eyes on Ayo serving food to a group of people with a smile on his face and humility all over him. The boys saw this and smiled.

"your guy has been humbled." Umar said with a smirk on his face.

"good to see that he's helping out of instead causing trouble for his mom." Ahmad said.

"it's not like we gave him a choice, didn't you burn his neck or something?" Sadiq asked.

"yes oh, we had to take him to the hospital afterwards." Mama Ayo answered as she walked up to their table. They all turned and upon seeing her smiles grew on their faces.

"MAMA!" they all yelled.

"how far now, how's the family?" Umar greeted sarcastically.

"keep quiet! I'm still angry with you people oh." she said.

"haba Mama, what we did wasn't it good?" Sadiq asked.

"it's not good, you injured my son! The only reason I'm not throwing you out is because he has changed for the better." Mama answered. She paused for a few seconds as the boys remained silent.

"... but the truth is that its what you did to him that made him change… and for that thank you…"

"... my sons." she added as she smiled at them teasingly.

"ehen Mama! Now you're talking!" Umar exclaimed as they all laughed.

"oya what will you guys have? Infact wait… AYO!" she called. Ayo was speaking with his sister Nkechi when he heard his mothers call, he turned to answer and his face quickly grew a frown as he laid his eyes on Umar, Sadiq, Ahmad and Nasir, 'the ones who humbled him'.

"Ma." he answered as he reluctantly walked to them

"Ayo, do you remember them?" Mama Ayo asked.

"yes ma." Ayo answered.

"you do? Oya talk to them now." Mama Ayo said.

"... good afternoon." Ayo greeted nervously.

"how far." they greeted back with smiles on their faces. A loud silence came through for a few seconds, Ayo was sent back by his mother while she continued to talk with the boys. They continued talking and finally went home by 4 o'clock. They would later meet with G at the field for training where Sadiq and Ahmad will disclose some disturbing revelations.