Note from the Author: This was written in response to a prompt for a writing group. The prompt was talent, and we were limited to 1500 words (I went over...oops!). Characters from Warehouse 13 do not belong to me.

In Which the Agents of Warehouse 13 find a Talent

Mika closed and stowed the Farnsworth with a sigh. She had just finished reporting her and Pete's latest findings, but unfortunately neither Artie nor Claudia had anything for them. She couldn't remember the last time an investigation had lasted this long without at least some idea of what the artifact was and who was using it; they'd been here for over two weeks.

She rubbed her temples and tried to review the case from start to finish. They'd first gotten a ping when a high school girls' swim team suddenly shot to the top of the charts, breaking records left and right after a long losing streak. All that had happened in the course of a week.

Within a few days, she and Pete had arrived to investigate, walking into the school's indoor pool in time to watch as half the team nearly drowned at swim practice. It was like the girls had simply forgotten how to swim. Fortunately enough of their teammates were in the water at the time to help pull them out.

Interviews with the coach had proven fruitless. Nothing in the woman's calm demeanor, speech, or behavior implied that she knew anything about what was happening. She had been overjoyed of course at her team's new-found prowess, but was equally distressed at their sudden forgetfulness. She had a talent for patience, though, and kept drilling the remaining team members despite the setbacks.

She had admitted with some consternation that the swimmers who suddenly no longer knew how to swim were some of her best and strongest. This made Mika and Pete suspect that it was something the swimmers themselves had done to try and beef themselves up, but by the same time next week, all but one of the swimmers on the team had forgotten how to swim.

Mika had just finished interviewing the last remaining swimmer – a girl named Whitley Johnson. Whitley had been hard to get a hold of for her super-packed schedule. She was one of those trophy daughters – her parents had booked her in everything from swim to piano to karate, and she had just made the lead in the school musical – a reported first, actually. Her parents said she'd never had the voice good enough for it until suddenly last week she seemed to come into her own.

"Could it be something Whitley's doing to the rest of the team?" Mika wondered aloud. "She was always so busy that she was never really the best at anything, just a jack of all trades…"

"Nah," Pete replied. The two of them sat together at the now empty pool, watching as the pool janitor – an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair – went about his duties.

"What, you got a good vibe about her or something?" Mika asked.

"I guess you could say that," Pete replied, squinting up his eyes the way he did when he was trying to figure out what even he meant. "I mean, she may way over-booked by overachiever parents, but she doesn't strike me as the competitive, vindictive type."

"She was over the moon about making the lead in the musical," Mika pointed out.

"Yeah, but who wouldn't be?"

"I guess you're right," Mika replied. "But if it's not her, than who is it?"

"It's never a Who, Mika, it's always a What, remember?" Pete reminded her. "We've got to be looking for an object. Something that enhances swimming ability and then takes it away. Or maybe sucks it away from other people?" Whitley had become the top swimmer in the state, beating out the scores of even the men's champs in just about everything. All of this was still off record, as her team had stopped competing with the recent near-drownings.

"So…is it like, Michael Phelps's goggles or something?" Pete went on. "Ariel's Sea-Shells?"

"Ariel's not a real person," Mika pointed out, though she knew Pete was joking. "And Mermaids don't exist."

"Ha! I dare you to ask Artie that. I bet he'll prove you there's an artifact that gives people half fish bodies."

They chuckled together half-heartedly. Both were frustrated that the case had taken them so long. They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the echoing sweep of the janitor's broom.

"Wait. Isn't there something different in here today?" Mika observed. "It's too quiet."

"Well, people say the pool's cursed. It's not surprising no one wants to come swim."

"Not that," Mika said. "That janitor. He liked to sing to himself while he worked."

"Yeah, he had a really nice voice," Pete confirmed with a nod. "He's trying out for the MET you know. Says it's his dream."

"You talked to him?"

"Yeah, he's a cool guy. Really smart too. He says he and his family went on a trip to Jerusalem a few weeks ago. Learned to speak Yiddish fluently by the time he got back."

"You didn't think to tell me this until now?" Mika cried, jumping to her feet.

"What does Yiddish have to do with swimming?" Pete asked, following her as she started strutting across the pool. "Slow down. No running by the pool or you'll slip!"

"He was in another country, and his return directly coincides with the recent run of swimming geniuses. He's our culprit…whoa!"

Running in heels by a poolside wasn't exactly the smartest thing Mika had ever done. Pete caught her before she went down, but by the time she'd gotten back on her feet, she looked back to see a Pete sized splash in the pool.

"I told you," he spluttered as he resurfaced. "Good thing I didn't have the Tesla on me."

"Or the Farnsworth," Mika giggled. "Sorry Pete…Here, take my hand." She knew Pete wouldn't pull her in out of revenge – not here, anyway. She had their electrical equipment on her after all.

"Nah. I've got this really strong vibe I should stay here," he said.

"What?"

"It's never been this clear before," he said. "I also have a vibe that I need to take up violin lessons."

"What?"

"Yeah, call Artie. See if he knows anyone in Univille who teaches."

Before Mika could process what she'd just heard a sudden shout echoed through the pool area, making both agents jump.

"I've had just about ENOUGH of you two!" it was the coach. She looked angrier than the agents had ever seen her. "You've harassed my girls enough. GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE."

Mika was about to remind the clearly insane woman that she and Pete were part of the secret service, but suddenly the coach had a gun in her hands. "I'm telling you, leave!"

"Ma'am, don't do anything you'd regret," Mika said.

A once singing, Yiddish speaking janitor. – An overbooked girl with a sudden singing talent to get her into the musical. – A swim team with the sudden ability to break Olympic records. – A once renownly patient coach suddenly going insane with anger.

"Pete, I think this is more than just swimming."

"I know, I know. I'm getting a vibe that this has to do with multiplying talents."

"What?" Mika asked, eyes still on the gun pointed at her from across the room. "Pete, when have you ever gotten a vibe that specific? Unless…" Mika's eyes widened. "Pete! Your vibe talent's been multiplied."

"Yeah! Yeah! Mika, and my vibe's telling me that if I don't learn the violin within a week I'll lose my ability to vibe!"

"Pete, what else is your vibe telling you?"

"That the artifact is a coin and it's in the pool drain."

"That's…wow, ok, get it and bag it would you?"

"Can do!"

Mika wasn't able to turn behind her to see Pete dive under the water, but she did see the coach suddenly open fire. Thankfully she was a terrible shot. Mika drew the Tesla.

"Look, just put the gun DOWN," Mika demanded. "I don't want to use this on you." Truth be told, surrounded by so much water, she couldn't fire the tesla safely, or she'd have set it off by now.

"Why can't you all just leave me alone?!" the coach screamed. A purple flash lit up the pool, and the woman dropped the gun in shock.

"Yes! Thank you Pete!" Mika grinned, stowing her Tesla.

"You found my lucky coin!" the Janitor said as Pete resurfaced. "Oh, my voice is back! I was getting worried…auditions are next week…"

"You found this coin in Jerusalem I take it?" Mika asked.

"Yes, actually. It was buried in the ground. Sheer luck that I kicked it up."

"I'm afraid we'll have to take this. It's more dangerous than you realize." Mika said, flashing her badge.

Out in the van, Mika and Pete called Artie on the Farnsworth to show him their latest find.

"Ah, you found the Talent, yes."

"Well, actually my talent was increased," Pete said, "Weren't you listening?"

"No, I mean you found the Talent. Haven't either of you read the bible?"

"You mean, that's one of the coins from the parable of the Talents?" Mika asked in surprise.

"Some particularly famous guy, you may have heard of him, goes by Jesus -used that coin to illustrate the parable as he taught it, yes. That would explain why some of the swimmers lost their ability to swim. The parable says that if you don't try to multiply your talents you lose them."

"Yes, so if within a week they hadn't worked on another talent they lost the first one," Mika said. "That's why you felt like you needed to take up the violin."

"Yeah, don't know what I was thinking," Pete said. "But that's a handy artifact. My vibes were more like visions, guys. Can I hang on to that thing?"

"Not if you want to keep hold of your vibes at all," Artie informed him. "If you don't double your talents every week you lose them; that's how the coin works. Your janitor friend learned a language as well as had his singing ability beefed up, but then he lost both after two weeks. The coach had to have improved both her swimming and patience before she lost them as well. That Whitley girl – well, for once having too much to do for her was a blessing."

"Ah, man," Pete said. "Maybe I can just borrow it every once in a while? I'll even learn the violin!"

"And the piano? And the guitar? And the alto flute? I'm not sure you'll have time to take up that many instruments working for me," Artie replied glibly. "Now get back to the warehouse you two. It's about time you closed the case."