Doubt

Everyone watching was shocked. They all thought that Noriko would be perfectly fine.

"What happened?" Joshua asked, the first of the New X-Men to recover from his confusion

"Cuckoos, Julian. Explain!" Nick didn't answer but called for some of the other members to explain.

"That was a telepathic attack. You gave it the visual appearance and made it sound like electricity but that was a pure telepathic construct," Esme answered on behalf of her sisters. The other members now understood why she collapsed but that still didn't explain why Nick hit her with a telepathic attack.

"You said you were gonna hit her with an electrical attack," Joshua pointed out

Nick's eyes focused on Joshua. The young man felt pressure on him. The intensity of Nick's eyes was too much so he looked away.

"I did. And I lied. But tell me, Joshua. Why didn't any of the telekinetics who could sense what it was, tell her that it was not an electrical attack but a telepathic one instead? Why did the girl who is constantly absorbing electricity and knows the feeling of it, tell that something was off when it was around my hand?"

Joshua wanted to say something but he couldn't figure it out. But Noriko could.

The attack was painful but it was more about the shock of the sudden pain that made her go down than the pain herself. She was able to recover fast and stand back up.

"How can a teacher lie?" Noriko asked him, electricity gathering around her hands

"Because I was not your teacher when I said I was going to attack you. I was an enemy. And you should never trust your enemies," Nick also looked her in the eye, not ashamed at all about what he did. "Back in line."

Noriko wanted to charge ahead but thinking about the difference between them, she hung her head in shame before turning around and joining the rest of her team.

"Let this be the first lesson for all of you. Doubt everything. Trust nothing.

Doubt your enemies' words, doubt their powers, doubt what you know about them. Why would they tell you their weakness? Why should you believe that they will spare someone else if you surrender to them? Would you kill yourself if they say they will then spare the rest of your team behind you?

Doubt yourself. Was the information you received truly correct? Are you really using your powers the right way? Are you using them to their full potential?

Doubt your allies. Are they truly a friend or an enemy in disguise? Can they really handle that enemy or do they need assistance? Can you truly rely on them?"

Nick's words were something that the kids had never expected to hear and the other mutants never expected him to teach.

Scott and Emma were watching the lesson from a hidden camera. The former nodded when he heard what Nick said.

"I had my doubts, Emma. But you were right. He is the right man for this job," Scott had no trouble admitting it. This was an important lesson that the kids need to know.

"Isn't it sad, though?" Emma asked

"They have to learn it sooner or later," Scott replied indifferently but he agree. He wished they lived in a world where the students under him did not need to learn this lesson so early.

Back on the training grounds, the New X-Men were still recovering from what he said. Some of them were disagreeing with him in their minds while others were starting to make connections. But no matter what any of them thought, they would always remember this lesson.

"We will be doing back-to-back combat practice against me. Surge, Hellion, and Elixir are first. X-23, Mercury, and Dust are next. Five-In-One and Rockslide will go last. Those who are fighting will stay here while those that are not need to go off to the side."

The other 9 members of the group walked off to the side and wanted to watch the fight that was about to happen. All of them wanted to see just how strong Nick was and he was going up against their best.

Noriko and Jullian were two of the strongest members of the old training squads while Joshua was a great healer. They made for a perfect combo.

Nick saw that the others were at a good distance and nodded his head. He then turned toward the 3 on the field before speaking to them.

"The match will begin when I count to 3."

The group got in position. They had Joshua at the front since he could heal himself, he wouldn't be taken out as fast as either of them if they were to be hit. It would also buy time for them to launch their attacks.

Lorna and Alex watched from the side but before Nick started counting, a figure rushed out from beside them. A large man with a pair of knives strapped to his waist was rushing to the field. This was James Proudstar/Warpath, a member of X-Force and the younger brother of the famous Thunderbird.

Julian and Surge heard his footsteps so they turned around. Both were about to greet the man, thinking that there was an emergency, only to be punched in the gut. As the wind was knocked out of them, the man grabbed them both by the face before slamming them into the ground. They were knocked unconscious instantly.

Joshua was shocked by what had just happened but put up his guard, afraid that James would attack him. But he was suddenly lifted in the air before being slammed into the ground using a large amount of telekinetic force, knocking him out as well.

Nick looked at the other members of the New X-Men before shaking his head.

"I told you, when someone is willing to attack you, they are your enemy. And you should never trust your enemies."