Author's Note: Hello! I love the feedback I've gotten on the first chapter, and I love the theories some of them had.

I debated on if to give Ercasi magic like she originally did when Reaper made her, but decided to only have her know about magic, but not actively use it outside of like, once or twice. Mostly because she's already busted as is and I didn't want to make her too OP.

I say that as if she isn't already capable of taking down Omega-level threats without difficulty, but you know what I mean.

Also, as Ercasi is Hispanic (Guatemalan specifically), she will sometimes slip into Spanish, intentionally or not, and I'll translate what she says for my non-speakers.

The translations might be a bit odd, though, since Spanish grammar and phrases (particularly the slang I, and therefore, Ercasi uses) don't always translate one-to-one in English.

Also, I realized that the date mentioned last chapter would make the next day a Thursday, not a Saturday as I'd planned. Please ignore that little inconsistency.

That's all. Enjoy the chapter!

.

Ercasi woke up early the next morning, which shocked her quite a bit.

Her mutant power had a hefty price– one of those was that she needed more sleep than the average person. 10 hours minimum for her to be rested, and if it were possible, 12 were preferable.

Now though, she felt quite rested, if a bit disoriented, but she chalked that up to spending god knows how long in another dimension.

She shook it off and stood, still wearing her armor as she didn't have other clothes.

Ercasi groaned at a knock at her door, wondering if she should ignore it to make the person go away.

The thought lasted all but a moment before the person knocked again, slightly louder.

Ercasi groaned again. "I'm coming, god," She said. "Puche pendejo."

(Freaking idiot [deragatory])

She opened the door, blinking in surprise to see Ororo there, looking quite amused.

"Your Spanish is quite good," She told Ercasi. "You speak like a native."

"Is 'cause I am," Ercasi rubbed her eyes, trying to look more presentable. "What d'ya want?"

Try as she might, she just wasn't a morning person in the slightest.

"I wasn't sure if you had any clothing with you," Ororo said, getting a head shake. "I wanted to give you some of mine so you don't have to wear your armor all the time."

Ercasi blinked, staring at the bunch of clothing in Ororo's hands numbly.

"Come in," She told Ororo, opening the door wider and stepping aside.

Ororo scanned the room as she entered, only seeing Ercasi's gauntlet and glasses on the dresser, but nothing else, further confirming her suspicions.

She set the clothes on Ercasi's bed, which was already quite messy, and stepped back.

Ercasi, without really thinking about it, unclipped her armor and took it off, surprising Ororo somewhat. She didn't think Ercasi would be as open as she was.

Ororo watched her remove the armor with interest. She didn't have the nudity taboos most did, having grown up as a poor thief in Cairo often stripped one of most inhibitions, but she was curious.

Ercasi was a tiny bit shorter than her, but with more muscle, giving Ercasi the look of a high-level martial artist.

In terms of composition, Ercasi had defined arms and shoulders, the muscles there flexing prominently even in their dull lighting. Her legs looked almost thicker than someone's torso, powerful muscles jumping as she moved around.

Even with her tired stance, Ercasi looked strong and deadly, and Ororo was tastefully reminded of the warrior women she'd met while in Africa. In truth, Ercasi looked like the model of envy for Amazonian goddesses.

Scars littered her body from a variety of sources. Just from a quick once, ok twice, over, Ororo could see knife wounds, gunshots, needles, scabbed-over burns, and what looked like claw marks on Ercasi's right side.

They looked old though, probably five years at Ororo's earliest guess, which made her wonder just how bad these Hunters had been since Ercasi didn't look much older than early 20-something.

"You're a fighter," Ororo commented, staring just a bit at Ercasi's abdominals.

Ercasi nodded and smiled softly at her, a look that immediately grabbed Ororo's full attention, not that she'd want it any different.

"You're one too," She replied, her voice tinged with happiness.

Ororo smiled back. "I am indeed. I grew up on the streets of Cairo, so I had to learn how to defend myself."

"I can tell," Ercasi replied. "The way you stand… Yeah, you look like someone who knows what they're doing."

Ororo paused for a second. Had she imagined that, or did Ercasi's voice sound almost… wanting?

She shook it off; it'd probably just been her hearing things.

"You know, I didn't expect you to be so… open," Ororo said, slightly curious. "Most Americans I've met have rather strict nudity taboos."

"I'm as open as you are," Ercasi replied with a lopsided grin.

Ororo raised an eyebrow. "Truly? That's a rather bold statement."

"Try me," Ercasi teased, her voice low.

Ororo's lips twitched and she was somewhat tempted to take Ercasi up on her offer.

She shook her head, though. "Not yet. But maybe one day you can come up to my arboretum, and then we can see."

"Oh, I will," Ercasi replied, grabbing a shirt from the bed. "I definitely will."

She pulled the shirt on with only mild difficulty. However, Ororo had a sneaking suspicion the several seconds Ercasi spent pulling the shirt over her breasts was just a tad bit exaggerated.

The pants were a genuine issue. Jeans were a no-go since Ercasi's added muscle created far too much friction to be worn for long, and anything else didn't fit thanks to the difference in body types between the two.

It was eventually resolved thanks to Ororo having a few skirts that fit Ercasi, something that Ercasi actually enjoyed.

"You know, as surprising as this is, this is like, the first time in years I've worn one of these things," Ercasi told her, gesturing to the long red skirt Ororo had given her. "It feels nice, to be honest."

Ororo smiled. "They look good on you, but one of these days we'll go out to get more."

"Girl's day out?" Ercasi grinned.

"You can say that," Ororo replied, internally overjoyed the two had gotten along so quickly.

The temperature outside suddenly spiked, which thankfully didn't do damage due to it being mid-November, but Ororo still quickly reigned her emotions in.

Ercasi seemed to notice her emotional restraint, tilting her head slightly as she looked at her.

"This might be a bit blunt," Ercasi began, running a hand through her messy hair. "But would you want me to make something that makes it so you don't have to control your emotions?"

Ororo did a double take. "You can do that?" She asked in shock, naked hope plain on her face.

Ercasi nodded. "It might take me a few weeks since I have to get set up here and all, but I can. It should be pretty easy since I've dealt with power-blockers before."

Ororo let a large smile blossom across her face as she nodded.

"If you can, then yes, please," She said, trying to keep her formality.

Ercasi grinned at her, and Ororo decidedly looked away as she felt herself flush.

The two eventually descended to the dining room for breakfast, with Ororo learning a bit more about Ercasi as they did.

"You truly made all of that from scraps?" Ororo asked in surprise. "I thought you had been exaggerating."

Ercasi shook her head. "Made all that armor from pieces I stole from that Blastaar guy. It isn't the best I can make, but it's enough to get by."

Ororo felt her eyebrows raise and she idly wondered what Ercasi's best could be.

The students filed in as Ercasi and Ororo were having breakfast, and several of them stared a bit at the newcomer.

While they'd somewhat noticed it last night, it was even more plain now that Ercasi was almost ethereally gorgeous, a fact accentuated by the sunlight that fell over her, giving her an almost angelic glow.

This, however, didn't affect how Ercasi interacted with them, as she quickly got into a conversation about physics with Jean and Scott and later one about mathematics with Kitty, giving her tips about the class.

"Well, you seem to be fitting in quite well, Miss Mikrai," Charles said with a smile as he entered the dining room.

Ercasi shrugged. "If I'm going to be living here, might as well make peace with all the inhabitants."

Charles' smile widened. Ercasi's openness to cooperation and amiability was a good sign; maybe her drastic methods of killing could be dulled more easily than he thought.

"Since it is a weekend, the students have training in a bit," Charles told her as he wheeled over to his spot at the table.

Ercasi raised an eyebrow. "Training? What kind of training?"

"Simulation training," Charles replied. "It is meant to test their teamwork and adaptation skills. How would you like to lead that training today?"

"Really?" Ercasi asked, both eyebrows shooting up. "You want me to beat up your students?"

"I wouldn't put it so crudely, but in essence, yes," Charles said. "Mostly to see what you're capable of. It would be beneficial for both parties."

Ercasi thought about it for a moment before nodding, her grin wide.

"But doesn't she already know our powers, Professor?" Scott asked with a slight frown. "It wouldn't be fair."

"Ok, I'll even things out a bit," Ercasi said, turning to him. "I'm a telepath and an expert fighter. I can move at the speed of sound, so you'll want to take me out quickly and keep me at a distance. Got it?"

Scott and the other students all did double-takes, not having expected Ercasi to be so blunt about her powers.

"Is that true, Professor?" Jean asked as she turned to him.

Charles nodded. "I can't say anything about her combat ability, but she is indeed a telepath. She also produces a calming field around her that makes you drop your guard."

"Yeah, but that won't really help in a fight," Ercasi lied. "It only works when you're not expecting it."

She shot a quick glance at Ororo, who decided to not tell the students about Ercasi's mimicry ability. It would be interesting to see how the students reacted to being caught flat-footed.

After that, Ercasi went up to her room to grab her armor and the students to change into their X-Men uniforms.

Ororo led Ercasi to the Danger Room, and Ercasi looked around in interest as they entered.

"Hard-light, huh?" She mumbled as the Danger Room changed to a ruined city. "Basic, but functional."

She poked a few buildings, finding them to be sturdy but not as tough as the real thing.

"A few nanites could really help," Ercasi murmured. "I wonder how powerful the computer of this thing is… Or how efficient it is for that matter."

Her mumbling stopped as the X-Men entered, and she raised an eyebrow at the spandex.

"That… doesn't seem that protective," She commented under her breath. "Like, at all."

"Well, Miss Mikrai, myself and the other teachers will be up here watching you," Charles' voice came through the intercom, "Go ahead."

Ercasi turned to the teens and walked over, cracking her neck.

"Ok, so you guys know how to work as a team, right?" She asked, getting several nods.

"Good. Ok, we're going to have two rounds," Ercasi told them. "First round, you'll have five minutes to prepare a strategy against me with only the info you have now. After the five minutes, I'm going to show up and start whooping your asses."

The X-Men did double takes as she disappeared from view, and they looked around quickly, but couldn't see her.

Scott quickly took the lead. "Ok, she's clearly underestimating us. Nightcrawler, I want you to teleport around and look for her, report back once you do."

Kurt nodded and Scott continued.

"Shadowcat, once we find her, you're going to sink her into the ground," He said. "Rogue, you'll drain her once Shadowcat immobilizes her. Me, Marvel Girl, and Spyke can all keep her busy until Shadowcat can get in."

Behind a building a few feet away, Ercasi shook her head in disappointment. She had never said she wouldn't be around; they'd just assumed that. Rookie mistake.

'Not even using the fucking telepath to scout the area,' Ercasi sighed internally. 'By god, these guys are green. Teleportation is a terrifying combat tool, but no, use the guy with the most mobility just as a scout. Idiots.'

The five minutes passed quickly, and Nightcrawler teleported away with a 'bamf.'

No sooner had he left when several metal disks hit the ground in front of the X-Men.

"Fall back!" Scott yelled, but it was too late.

The flashbangs went off and blinded them, making them stumble back wildly.

Ercasi rushed out, hitting Jean in the stomach and knocking the wind out of her.

Jean's head snapped back from a knee, and she fell to the ground, out of the fight.

Ercasi raised her gauntlet towards Kitty, and a light blue beam hit the girl in the chest.

Kitty cried out in pain and tried to phase, only to be unable to activate her powers.

"She's got something!" Kitty cried before Ercasi took her out.

Scott had recovered enough to see and let out a powerful blast towards Ercasi.

Ercasi snarled at the boy's brashness and leaped away.

She appeared beside Rogue, who tried to reach out and grab her arm.

Ercasi let the girl grab her and grinned.

Rogue did a double take as her powers didn't activate, even though she was touching Ercasi's skin.

Scott let out another blast and Ercasi moved, grabbing Rogue and using her as a shield.

Rogue screamed in pain and Scott stopped immediately, recoiling in horror at what he'd done.

Ercasi slapped something on Rogue's back before dropping the girl.

She leaped away from Evan's bone spikes, internally groaning at the brute force approach.

Ercasi disappeared behind a building, and by the time Evan and Scott reached where she'd been, she was gone.

"Where the hell is she?" Evan demanded, looking around.

Scott shook his head, looking rather shaken. It had all happened so fast that by the time he'd recovered, it was already too late.

Nightcrawler bamfed in with the smell of sulfur and brimstone, almost immediately collapsing into Evan's arms.

"Kurt!" Scott exclaimed. "What happened?"

Nightcrawler looked exhausted, and his breath was quick and shallow.

"Fast…" He croaked, his body shaking somewhat. "Couldn't… keep up…"

Both Scott and Evan stared in horror as Kurt passed out, feeling terror grip their bodies.

"Where do you thin– AHH!" Evan's words cut off as a telepathic blast of pain hit him dead on.

Evan collapsed from the pain, and Scott looked around wildly, trying to find Ercasi.

"Boo."

Scott jumped and turned, only to get hit squarely in the chest by a red beam of light from Ercasi's gauntlet.

Ercasi tsked as Scott collapsed, shaking her head slowly.

"They're green," She said, looking up. "Everyone of them."

"Well, most of them aren't used to… your tactics," Charles' voice came through, sounding a bit nervous.

The swiftness with which Ercasi had disposed of the X-Men was somewhat disturbing, and even Logan looked on, impressed at the ruthlessness.

Ercasi quickly revived everyone, gently tapping them with her left gauntlet before moving on to the next one.

Surprisingly, Rogue didn't have much damage from Scott's blast besides some light scratches.

"You should be thankful I've got these," Ercasi told the girl as she removed a metal disk from Rogue's back.

"What are those?" Jean asked weakly.

"Recovery Discs," Ercasi replied as she revived Kitty. "They enhance your body's healing ability by a hundredfold. Useful to carry around."

Kitty whimpered in pain before Ercasi put a disk on the girl's stomach, causing Kitty to relax some.

The rest of the X-Men quickly recovered, and within five minutes, they were all standing again.

"So, what did we learn?" Ercasi asked, arms crossed.

"That we shouldn't underestimate an opponent simply because we have more people?" Scott suggested.

Ercasi made a so-so gesture. "Eh, kind of."

She gave them all a sharp glare. "The most important thing is to make sure the area's clear of enemies before you make your plan!"

The X-Men gaped at her, realizing that she'd listened to their plan.

"But that's cheating!" Scott cried.

He shrunk back slightly at the withering glare Ercasi gave him, and the other X-Men inched away slowly.

"If someone's trying to kill you, you'll be lucky to get five minutes of prep," Ercasi told him coldly. "Hell, you'll be lucky to get five seconds. You can't act like this is a video game with lives. You get one shot, that's it."

Her glare disappeared, and she sighed tiredly.

"You'll get one more shot," Ercasi told the group. "This time, you'll be attacking me. You'll win by disabling my ability to fight back. I'll win by disabling all of you."

Kurt groaned somewhat loudly. "Ve are going to lose again."

"I'll take pity on you and won't use my tech, just my mutant abilities," Ercasi replied. "I'll be in that building over there. You have five minutes to make a plan."

She pointed to a building on the far end of the simulation before she left, disappearing faster than any of them could track.

Scott turned to his team, frowning. "Did anyone get a read on her powers?"

"She's fast," Kurt supplied in his light German accent. "I couldn't teleport fast enough to keep up."

"Ah couldn' do nothing eitha'" Rogue added in a huff. "Ah couldn't drain her."

Scott's frown deepened. "You couldn't drain her? Are you sure that wasn't her tech?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah was touchin' her skin. Didn't do nothin'."

Evan spoke up. "Her telepathy's strong. She sent some sort of pain blast at me. That's what took me out."

Scott nodded slowly. "Jean? Did you see anything?"

Jean sighed and shook her head. "I know she's good, but she took me out too quickly for me to do or see anything."

Scott rubbed his face. "Ok… Shadowcat, we'll need you to disable her, since Rogue can't drain her."

Kitty nodded somewhat hesitantly. She knew Ercasi wouldn't be able to hit her with that energy blast again, but for some reason, she still didn't feel all that confident trying to fight her.

Scott turned, ignoring her hesitance. "Kurt, bamf into the building and find the room Ercasi's in. Report back and me and Spyke will lay down covering fire."

"Jean, use your telepathy to fight hers. See if your telekinesis can draw her out." Scott ordered. "Once that happens, Kitty can restrain her."

Once the five minutes were up, the X-Men began to move, with Kurt bamfing around the area and the rest following.

Ercasi watched them from her spot on the roof, shaking her head.

'Moving around in a single group, in plain sight at that. Do they think I don't have a plan too?'

She took a deep breath, summoning the powers she'd mimicked from the X-Men.

Kurt bamfed into a room, looking around and seeing nothing.

Another bamf came to his left, and Kurt couldn't react before powerful lasers hit him in the back.

The X-Men froze as Kurt exploded out of the wall, followed by a red laser that looked suspiciously like Scott's.

"She has lasers?!" Kitty exclaimed. "How many powers does she have?!"

"Marvel Girl, use your telepathy and find her!" Scott barked, firing a blast into the building.

Scott's blast got hit with another one, sending it careening into the ceiling.

The rest of the X-Men could barely dodge before another laser blast tore up the ground where they stood.

Scott tried to match the blast with his and got stuck in a stalemate.

Jean tried searching for Ercasi's mind, only to find nothing but an odd whip-like mental structure rushing towards her.

"What the–" Was all she could say before pain shot through her skull.

Jean's legs buckled at the attack, but she managed to keep her mind.

"Let's see how you like your own medicine," She whispered, trying to send a pain blast back.

The lasers coming from the building disappeared, and Scott's blast took out several floors before he reigned it in.

A bamf sounded behind them, and Kitty turned.

"Kurt! Are–" Her words stopped dead as another laser blast nearly hit her in the chest.

Kitty managed to phase just in time and began to sink through the floor, trying to keep to the original plan.

Ercasi ducked Scott's laser and came up in a roll, her fist raised towards Jean.

Jean barely managed to dodge the bone spikes that came out of Ercasi's knuckles before she buckled at another pain blast.

Ercasi hit Jean with a powerful optic beam, lifting her off her feet and sending her careening into Rogue.

Ercasi bamfed away from Scott's blast, reappearing beside Kitty.

Kitty tried to grab her, doing a double take as her hand passed through Ercasi.

"How the hell?!" Kitty exclaimed, jumping back.

"Sorry, Curls," Ercasi said, releasing another blast.

Kitty phased away, and it quickly became a game of tag between the two, with Kitty being forced to stay in phase thanks to Ercasi's lasers, but unable to hit Ercasi while solid.

Scott and Evan tried to keep Ercasi in phase too, blasting her whenever she appeared.

It was about two minutes of this before Ercasi grinned at Scott.

"Hey, One-Eye, look up!" She called.

Scott looked up, and his eyes widened under his visor as he saw the large stormcloud above his head.

A lightning bolt hit him dead on, stunning Scott long enough for Ercasi to bamf beside him and hit him in the gut, taking him out.

Ercasi bamfed next to Evan, who lashed out with his bone spikes, only for them to pass right through her.

She threw him telekinetically into a rising Rogue, knocking the two down again.

Ercasi hit Kitty with three mild pain blasts back to back, bamfed next to her, and chopped her in the side of the neck, taking Kitty out.

"Well, that lasted about two minutes longer than I expected," Ercasi commented, looking around at the disabled X-Men.

She gave a wave, and her gauntlets rushed out of the destroyed building, wrapping itself around Ercasi's forearms.

After going and getting Kurt back, Ercasi quickly healed the teens and stepped back, waiting for them to get back up.

"So, round two, how did we do?" She asked, one hand on her hip and the other hanging by her side.

"Ugh… Terrible," Jean groaned as she got up gingerly. The constant pain blasts had given her a serious headache.

Scott frowned as he stood. "We didn't do that badly," He said defensively.

Ercasi shook her head. "Sorry, kid. But nothing I did was impossible for you to counter. I actually made several mistakes on purpose to give you guys a fighting chance."

"You took us out so quick, though," Kitty said, rubbing her head. "How were we supposed to counter that?"

"Well, first off, use Kurt and Jean better," Ercasi began. "You saw how dangerous a person with the right combat skills can be with teleportation. And Jean's a telepath and telekinetic, that combo makes her dangerous, but she was kept to the sidelines."

Jean smiled a little at the praise, but Scott's frown deepened at the indirect insult to his leadership.

"Second, you guys saw me use two of your comrades' powers back-to-back," Ercasi continued. "Scott's lasers and Kurt's teleportation. That should've given you some clue on what my mutant power is."

The group collectively paused, their brows furrowed as they tried to figure out what Ercasi meant.

Rogue's eyes widened. "YER LIKE ME!" She exclaimed. "You absorb powers!"

Ercasi grinned. "Close. I actually mimic powers, meaning I'll get something similar but not as strong as the original. I mimicked all of your powers during the first round."

"How were we supposed to counter that?!" Evan demanded. "You had all of our stuff!"

Ercasi rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, maybe use the girl with the same fucking powers as me?"

The X-Men did double takes, and Ercasi sighed.

"You guys knew Rogue couldn't drain me for whatever reason," She told them. "That meant that my power would have to cancel out hers somehow, and since the opposite would also be true, you could've used her as a safeguard."

"Just a quick power-up from each of you would've made her capable of matching anything I threw except maybe the lightning," Ercasi explained. "But since my attention would be fixed on Rogue, you could've jumped me and beat me with sheer numbers."

She sighed again and rubbed her eyes.

"Your issue is that you make a plan and stick to it," She said, looking up at them. "In war, that's how you get killed. You need to learn how to adapt or you'll die the moment you step into the big leagues."

"Well, Miss Mikrai, since now you both know each other's abilities, it's only fair for you all to go again," Charles' voice came through. "Just to show it wasn't the element of surprise that won you those battles."

Ercasi shrugged. "Fine by me; you want me to use my powers or not?"

"You think you can beat us without your powers?" Jean asked, slightly insulted.

"I could beat you without my tech or powers and with both hands tied behind my back," Ercasi drawled, rolling her eyes. "And I do mean all of you."

"Do what you think is acceptable, Miss Mikrai," Charles told her. "As long as you don't go too hard on them."

Ercasi rolled her shoulders. "You know what, I'm going to fight you using peak human strength and speed, and normal weapons you might encounter with soldiers. No power mimicry, no super-tech, just skill."

Ercasi walked away to the other end of the city, but just before she was out of earshot, she yelled:

"You guys have ten minutes!"

Ercasi quickly ran over to a large building, using peak human speed as promised.

Logan's voice came through the intercom on the wall beside her: "You sure you can do this, kid? That's a pretty tall order you've got there."

Ercasi nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What else does this room provide? Weapons?"

"It'll provide anything you need," Logan replied. "Just tell us and it'll show up. But where's the confidence from? You've got training?"

"I've killed a group of special Ops soldiers by myself," Ercasi replied. "I was the best fighter of my home world, and only my brother could rival me."

Logan whistled low at that, nodding a bit in appreciation.

"If I snipe one of them, can you take them out for the round?" Ercasi asked.

"The Room can mission-kill," Logan replied. "It'll announce them as dead and they'll be out for the whole round."

Ercasi nodded. "Good, do that, please. Here's what I'll need…"

At exactly the ten-minute mark, Kurt bamfed away from the group, scouting the area as usual.

Ercasi lay on top of a random building, looking through a scope as she prepared to snipe them.

'Using the same tactic three times? Do they think I'm stupid or something?'

Ercasi scoped down Kitty and fired, hitting the girl square in the forehead.

Kitty's head rocked back from the rubber bullet, and she stumbled to the ground.

"Shadowcat: Mission Kill," A robotic voice sounded.

The rest of the X-Men fell back, with Scott and Jean blasting the building the bullet had come from.

Ercasi was already long gone, having used a grapple to swing onto another building.

Kurt got hit in the chest by another bullet, directly where his heart was.

"Nightcrawler: Mission Kill."

Jean quickly put a telekinetic shield up, and not a moment too soon as two bullets hit the shield the second after she did.

"What do we do?!" She demanded as more bullets hit the shield.

Two canisters bounced off the shield and exploded, blinding them as the flashbangs went off.

Several more canisters landed between the stumbling X-Men, releasing clouds of smoke that further impeded their vision.

Scott went down with a bullet to the back of the head, as did Evan a moment later.

"Cyclops: Mission Kill."

"Spyke: Mission Kill."

Jean blew the smoke away with her telekinesis, managing to make a shield as Ercasi appeared with a handgun.

Rogue tried to charge her, but Ercasi grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.

Ercasi pulled a holographic knife out and embedded it into Rogue's neck.

"Rogue: Mission Kill."

Jean tried to send a pain blast at Ercasi, but Ercasi shrugged it off and tossed several flashbangs at her.

Jean knocked them away with her telekinesis, but that only set them off faster and Jean was blinded again.

She made a shield around her as she blinked away the spots, but Ercasi didn't let up, sending two more flashbangs at Jean.

Ercasi appeared above Jean since the girl had forgotten to cover the top of the shield.

Jean went down with a bullet to the head, her shield dissipating.

"Marvel Girl: Mission Kill."

"De verdad, no se que esperaba," Ercasi sighed.

(I really don't know what I expected)

The simulation ended and all the kids recovered, with the three other teachers coming out of the watch room to join Ercasi.

"Ok, so, long story short," Ercasi began. "You all suck, like, terribly. You have no situational awareness, over-rely on your powers, are inflexible, and react as individuals instead of as a group."

She pointed to Scott. "You call yourself a leader? You used the same plan three times in a row! You didn't adapt at all to my attacks, that's not to mention your recklessness with those blasts of yours. You go out there, you'll kill someone without meaning to."

Scott couldn't stop himself from scowling. "I did what I could! We didn't know anything about your powers, so it was hardly fair!"

Ercasi stomped over to him and grabbed him by the front of his uniform.

"Listen here you fucking boy scout," She snarled. "War isn't fucking fair. You keep talking about fairness in combat as if your opponent is going to drop their fucking weapons because you fucking said please. Learn to adapt or you'll fucking regret it."

Scott paled at her glare, his resolve leaving his body almost immediately.

"We do not threaten our charges!" Charles barked, feeling anger rise in him at Ercasi's bluntness. Sure, they were green, but that could be improved; there was no reason for her to be so rude.

Ercasi's head snapped over to him, and Charles could see the horrors of war inside Ercasi's eyes.

"I'm not fucking threatening him," She snapped, letting go of Scott. "I'm warning him. If he goes out like this, hitting the same drum over and over, if he doesn't die then one of his teammates does. That's what happens when boy scouts go to war."

Logan internally agreed with her, having seen too many good men die, but decided not to anger Chuck by voicing it aloud.

"I thought you said these simulation exercises were meant to improve adaptation," Ercasi stated angrily. "Yet I have yet to see one bit of adaptation in any of them."

"Then why don't you reprimand the rest?" Charles replied somewhat heatedly.

"Because Boyscout here is the supposed leader," Ercasi said, gesturing vaguely to Scott. "A leader that doesn't adapt is leading dead men. Even the most cowardly people can be roused by a good enough leader, but a bad leader can take the best soldier and make them a wuss."

"She does have a point," Ororo said, ignoring Scott's affronted look. "An entire team's morale is dependent on a leader."

Ercasi sighed and rubbed her eyes. "How long have they been training?"

"A bit under a year," Charles replied.

"Ok… noted," Ercasi said, nodding.

She pointed to Scott. "You're going to lose those bad habits, got it? You and the rest, all of you are going to learn."

Scott managed a hesitant nod, though the rest of the X-Men agreed much more readily, recognizing that they were sorely lacking in many areas.

"Good. Now, I want all of you to write AARs about your performance today," Ercasi told them. "If you don't know what those are, they're short for After Action Reports. They're meant for you to reflect on what you did during training and what you could've improved."

She turned to Charles. "When do they have this kind of training again?"

"Tuesday," Charles replied. "Sunday is a free day and Monday they train with Ororo."

Ercasi nodded and turned back to the X-Men. "The AARs are due Tuesday. Tell me what you could've done differently during these training sessions, things you can improve on, and try to identify your weak spots."

With that, Ercasi left the kids behind and headed to her room, collapsing onto the bed once she was inside.

She groaned and rolled onto her back, making a vague gesture with her hand.

Her armor and gauntlets detached from her and flew into the corner, rearranging themselves into a medium-sized metal box.

Ercasi rubbed her eyes tiredly. She hadn't been trying against the kids, not in the slightest, but seeing so many people with meta-human abilities in one place, not dead or experimented on, was unusual for her.

She hadn't been lying last night about her and her brother, Marvin, being one of the last remaining meta-humans in their world.

The Hunters had either killed, convinced, or brainwashed almost every other meta-human on the planet, and Ercasi could list on one hand the people she still knew who'd been alive when she entered the Negative Zone.

Ercasi sighed again, the thought of her brother hurting in her chest.

She'd been 16 when she left the dimension, and Marvin had been 14, barely younger than some of the members of the X-Men and almost the same age as Kitty.

Ercasi had been stuck inside the Negative Zone for what she estimated to be 4 years of Negative Zone time, but she knew that time flowed differently across the different universes, and that one second inside the Negative Zone could be anywhere from a millisecond to a decade of outside time depending on the world.

Ercasi would be 20 approximately, and Marvin…

Her heart panged, and Ercasi winced a bit, rubbing her chest.

Marvin would be 18, the same age as the kids. If he was still alive, that was.

(Prepare for a bit of a lore dump)

Ercasi had died in her home world at 16, killed by Marvin thanks to the Hunter's brainwashing.

It'd all started when Ercasi had come across a hidden school for meta-humans, promising to be free of the Hunters' influence and accepting of all meta-humans, regardless of powers.

Ercasi had enrolled Marvin into it, seeing as it offered highly advanced mathematics courses that had appealed to him, hoping that the school would allow Marvin to make friends.

Marvin hadn't, and within a few weeks, had actually pissed off several members of a small local gang that went to the same school.

This normally wouldn't be an issue. Marvin was strong enough to take care of himself, and often did, fighting several members of the gang for trying to pick on the younger or weaker students.

But their leader, only known by the nickname Apeston, was the most terrifying one. Nearly seven feet tall and built like a telephone pole, and had a specific brainwashing ability.

Apeston's ability meant that anyone who hurt him would fall under his control until Apeston used them to give another person the same injury he'd recieved. So someone who punched him in the chest would fall under his mind control until Apeston used them to punch someone else in the chest.

Marvin had gotten into a fight with Apeston, which was more Marvin defending himself from the other boy's attack, but either way it ended with Marvin stabbing Apeston between the ribs with his own knife.

He'd tried to resist the control as much as he could, but the mix of the shock, his normal exhaustion, and Apeston hitting him overrode his willpower, making him fall under the mind control.

Apeston had then sent Marvin to attack Ercasi, and it was only thanks to Ercasi being the more skilled fighter that allowed her to stay alive for some time.

She hadn't tried to fight him, instead attempting to stop Marvin by breaking him out of the mind control.

It hadn't worked.

Ercasi learned she couldn't break him out of the mind control without drastic measures against him, and had quickly formed a new plan.

Ercasi knew about magic; she knew that one could sacrifice something for something else of equal value, and that she, as his older sister, was probably the most important person in his life since Marvin wasn't one with many friends.

She'd sacrificed herself, both to break him out of the mind control, but also in a ritual to ensure he would find a good life.

Her death would be considered enough of a sacrifice for Marvin to eventually get a good life, where he didn't have to run, or at least that's what Ercasi hoped for.

After that, Ercasi had awoken inside the Negative Zone, only wearing the light leather armor she often wore thanks to paranoia.

She'd quickly found some king inside the Negative Zone named Blastaar, who had tried to kidnap her almost immediately.

Luckily, Ercasi was a much better fighter than he was, and had broken free of his soldiers and Blastaar himself, mimicking his concussive blasts as she did.

Over time, Ercasi had stolen scraps and food from the sentient species inside the Negative Zone, eventually becoming a formidable threat inside the dimension.

She'd been planning to find her home world again, after a long time in the Negative Zone, when she'd been attacked by what looked like a metal-armored behemoth.

Ercasi had fought it, but was forced to use Creationist, a mix of technomancy and omniscience that allowed her to manipulate reality itself, to even keep up with the being.

She'd learned the being was called a 'Celestial,' and a member of the strongest species inside the Negative Zone, who was capable of rewriting universes on a whim.

Ercasi's fight with the Celestial had destroyed the equivalent to several galaxies, and even then, she knew she hadn't actually killed the thing, just seperated it from the Negative Zone for a short time.

It was after that fight that Ercasi went to the X-Men's world, knowing that in her current state, she wouldn't be able to fight a group of Celestials.

Now she was here, and she shivered a bit as she remembered the power that Celestial had.

Yes, if this world was to survive, then they needed to be trained. She needed to make sure there were people here who could protect Earth if one of those things ever attacked.

.

Author's Note: And that's the chapter!

So yeah, Ercasi's strong. She can kill a Celestial in a 1v1, but would lose to a group of them, which would put her roughly on the same strength level as Galactus after eating four planets.

Her Creatonist is essentially her strongest form, and it can destroy a universe if Ercasi pushes it.

She isn't omnipotent with Creationist, just REALLY strong. She can still lose to a lot of Marvel's heavy-hitters like the Phoenix Force, a fully-fed Galactus, the Beyonders, and so on, though on Earth, very few would be able to do anything to her.

Ercasi is pretty harsh with the X-Men, but given what world she came form, that's a given. But her bluntness and high expectations are going to run a few problems in the future.

Also, Ercasi still falls into the same trap that many geniuses do, and overestimate the capacity of the average individual, so the clues she left would've probably been enough for an experienced group of fighters or geniuses, but not for the teens shown. That's also going to bite her in the future.

Well, that's all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one!