Cafeteria, 5:30 PM.
The gang was gathered again at their usual table—well, almost all in good spirits. Except for one notably sulky face: Syd Barrett.
The guy was ready to throw hands at any moment, practically vibrating with pent-up frustration as he sat beside Mickey.
"How was your first day of training?"
Toshi asked, shoving a piece of pork into his mouth.
"Drained my soul."
Sera's answer was short and dry, but it made all three boys chuckle.
"Told you so."
Toshi winked, following up with a bite of vegetables.
"So, about that trainer..."
Roxxy poked at her macaroni with a fork.
"How was she?"
"She was alright," Jody replied.
"But kind of had that Syd energy, you know?"
Mickey chimed in, "You mean crude?"
Smack!
Syd gave him a light whack on the head.
"No, I mean... sarcastic," Jody clarified, sipping her water after finishing a light sandwich.
"Yeah... totally."
Sera nodded in agreement—until Syd abruptly spoke up.
"She's a Disruption Agent."
"!?"
"How do you know that?"
Toshi turned to him, surprised.
"Syd tried stabbing her," Jody replied nonchalantly.
"What!?"
"It was just a test," Syd snapped.
"The way she countered proves it—disruption class. But she's not all that. Just annoying."
Of course, when Syd said "not all that," he probably only meant "not all that for him."
"Syd... I stumbled because I was exhausted, okay?"
Jody glared at him.
He just stared back like, "Sure you did." Then stuffed a sandwich in his mouth and sipped his strawberry milk.
"I say you go for it tonight," he suggested. "She'll probably think you're still too timid to try again on day one. Hit her with something unexpected."
"And what? Get my arm snapped in the process?"
Jody wasn't sold.
"She even sensed Sera's sneak attack from behind. I'm not a prodigy like you, remember?"
"There are ways," Syd said.
"You two just need to work together," Toshi added.
"Your speed's not enough yet. But two-on-one? You've got the advantage."
"Yeah, except that 'one' is a professional Disruption Agent... and we're just two idiots."
"One's overweight, the other's calcium-deficient," Syd muttered.
Thud!
Mickey nudged him sharply.
"What?"
Mickey didn't reply, just raised his eyebrows and nodded subtly toward someone.
Everyone turned to look.
Sitting a few tables away, Marie—their new trainer—was eating alone. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin and glanced up from her phone... locking eyes with the group.
For a moment, the tension was palpable.
But then... Marie waved.
Syd and Sera exchanged confused glances. Who was she waving at?
Turns out—it was Mickey.
He waved back, completely casual.
The entire group collectively lost it.
"Wait... why did you wave at her?!"
"I know her."
"HUH!?"
"You what?!"
"Marie," Mickey pointed casually.
"WHAT!?"
"Did you two train together or something?!"
"Yeah."
"Wait, WHAT!?"
Sera clutched her head.
"What do you mean you trained together?!"
"Back when I was training to be a Thrak Agent," Mickey explained. "I got sent to a facility on an island. That's where I met Marie. We worked together a couple of times."
"That's it?"
Smack! Syd bopped him on the head.
"That's not 'just it,' you punk. Why didn't we know this!?"
"Would you tell me about every distant acquaintance you've ever trained with?"
"Uh..."
"We teamed up to survive a couple of drills. That's all. I haven't seen her since."
He calmly sipped his cocoa.
"Why didn't you mention it earlier?"
"No one asked."
"..."
They had no comeback.
"If she didn't wave first, you'd never have told us, huh?"
Smack! Toshi added another forehead slap for good measure. Everyone stared, stunned.
"What did I do...?"
Mickey rubbed his head. "Why is society like this..."
Jody shook her head, amused. But before they could comment further—
Marie was suddenly standing beside their table.
Her eyes were on Mickey—and Mickey only.
"Hey, Mickey. Long time no see. Didn't expect to run into someone Annie knows, too."
Sera narrowed her eyes, catching a hint of something in Marie's tone. She wasn't sure... but she didn't like it.
"We just found out," Toshi said. "You trained together?"
"Yeah. I was shocked when I saw him," Marie admitted. "Didn't know you were close with Annie's kids."
She placed a hand on Mickey's shoulder—friendly, almost too familiar. Sera noticed everything.
"You never asked," Mickey replied blandly, as always.
That was the moment Sera's little "suspicion meter" jumped from 70% to about 97%. And she wasn't the only one.
"You haven't changed at all," Marie smiled.
Just then—
Tap. Tap.
Syd turned to Roxxy and muttered in Thai.
"Karn... can I beat her up yet? I'm seriously about to lose it."
"Chill... she's mom's pick, remember?"
But then—
To their utter shock, Marie turned back and replied in perfect Thai:
"Go ahead and try."
"!!!"
Syd and Roxxy were stunned speechless. The others, though they didn't understand, looked equally shocked.
"You... speak Thai?"
Syd asked, jaw nearly unhinged.
"No."
Marie smiled.
"ຂ້ອຍມາຈາກປະເທດລາວ."
"...Oh. Neighboring country, huh."
Syd stood up, facing her.
"Neighboring?"
Jody asked, totally confused.
"I think we've got a problem," Syd said in English. "We can't insult her in Thai anymore. She's Lao. She understands everything."
"Lao?" Sera blinked.
"It's the country next to Thailand," Roxxy explained. "Just across the Mekong River."
"Annie told me all about you," Marie said. "If you come at me again—I'm allowed to retaliate. Full force."
"You think you can take me?"
Syd challenged.
"You won't know until you try," Marie shot back.
That was it. Jody and Sera now had no doubt—Marie was not the type to back down. And Syd? He was very much Syd.
Fwoop!
Out of nowhere, Syd pulled out a wallet.
"!?"
Marie flinched. It was hers.
"Miss Mali Wirawan... real name, or fake?"
Syd smirked.
"Dude."
Snatch! Marie snatched the ID back, then patted herself down.
Her wallet was missing.
Oh. There it was. Syd held it up.
"Mali... Mari... probably real."
"Annie warned me you were a sleazy pickpocket. Didn't think you'd be this good. Now hand it back."
Marie was flustered. Syd was about to keep provoking her when—
Mickey stepped in and shook his head.
That stopped Syd cold.
Mickey never intervened like this.
And of all people, Mickey had trained with Marie. He knew what she was capable of. If she snapped, things would escalate fast.
So Syd tossed the wallet back.
Thud.
She checked it. Everything was intact.
"Smart move," she said coldly.
"You shoved Jody till she stumbled. You do realize her leg's weak, right? What if she got hurt? Who'd be responsible?"
"That's what this is about?"
Marie asked.
"Damn right."
The words hit Jody harder than expected.
"...I thought you just didn't like me..."
Marie folded her arms. "Guess I owe you an apology."
She turned to Jody.
Whether it was sincere or not, it helped cool the tension—for a moment.
Then, Jody suddenly asked:
"Marie... did you recognize me from the news?"
"Who didn't?"
Oof. That one stung.
Then Marie turned to Mickey. "You told them, didn't you?"
"Told them what?" he asked.
"About me."
"...You mean your ability?"
"You know it. We both know... how well our powers complement each other."
She gave him a playful wink.
Sera... was now at a solid 99%.
"I know all your abilities. Including you two," Marie said, smiling. "Annie told me everything."
"What's yours then?"
Sera asked, voice sharp.
"I wasn't going to say anything, but... if I don't, you'll just squeeze it out of Mickey anyway."
And then... a military green aura pulsed around Marie. Clear as day.
"Magnetic field," Syd muttered.
"Annie told me you're into physics, right?"
Marie grinned.
"Then you know: magnetic fields generate electric fields. And electric fields generate magnetic fields."
"We're two sides of the same coin."
"There's no pairing more compatible than ours."
Syd scoffed. "Only on paper."
"Sure about that?"
Marie turned to Sera.
"See you at seven."
She gave Mickey one last look before walking away.
"..."
"Hey..."
Sera said suddenly. But her tone had changed—no longer nosy, but serious.
"Mannix."
"...Yeah?"
"What exactly is your relationship with her?"
"...Colleagues. Trained together."
"And what else?"
"..."
Mickey thought for a second. Then a memory clicked.
"Oh. We hooked up once."
"WHAT?!"
Roxxy turned. Syd whipped around. Jody blinked. Toshi facepalmed.
As for Sera—
Clang!
Her spoon dropped from her hand.
Mouth wide open. Frozen.
She stared at Mickey.
He blinked at her, confused.
"What?"
________________________________________________________________________________
Marie Magnet (Mali)
Psychological Profile: Assertive, hot-tempered, highly private.
Ability: Magnetic Field Manipulation – Can generate and control magnetic fields around or within objects (Magnokinesis).
Ability Type: Non-visible / intangible manifestation.