Chapter 41 - Training [3]

Listening to Scott's words, Sara pondered over the test that lay before her. Honestly, both Sara and Prime were holding back their strength during battles. They didn't intend to cause more harm than necessary. Although they weren't necessarily opposed to taking lives, they knew they wouldn't feel comfortable hurting innocents.

Moreover, it was a fact that Sara and Prime were interested in testing the extent of their physical strength. With this thought in mind, everyone positioned themselves side by side, and Scott was the first to act. He stood in front of the dummy, completely removed the glasses that hid his eyes, and unleashed an intense blast.

The blast was so powerful that it completely tore off the top of the dummy, piercing through it and leaving a small red crater on the wall on the other side of the room. The power of the blast was impressive, and even Sara and Prime had to admit that the release of power was extremely intense.

With a smile on his face, Scott slowly returned to the others, while Kurt watched him with a playful expression.

"Always showing off" Kurt replied with a playful smile on his face.

"Now it's my turn" exclaimed Kitty as she advanced toward the training dummy, sporting a confident smile.

Prime was genuinely interested in seeing how Kitty would use her power to cause some damage to the dummy, considering that her ability didn't seem very suitable for direct combat. As he watched, Prime saw Kitty approach the dummy slowly. With each step she took, her body sank progressively into the ground until only her head remained visible, soon being completely engulfed by the soil.

Prime watched with confusion, not understanding what Kitty was planning. However, as the dummy began to sink into the ground, Prime quickly realized Kitty's strategy. As the dummy was completely buried in the ground, Kitty emerged triumphant, smiling and making a peace sign with her hand.

After Kitty, it was Kurt's turn, who argued that it would be unfair to be evaluated after Sara and Jean had already presented themselves. With that, he quickly disappeared, teleporting away. Suddenly, a car appeared above the dummy, falling onto it and crushing it completely.

Seeing this, Prime could only think that this was a truly interesting way to use his power, as it seemed that Kurt could also teleport anything he touched along with him.

"So, which one of you ladies wants to go first?" asked Scott, alternating his gaze between Jean and Sara.

With a calm and serene smile on her face, Sara raised her hands towards the dummy, adopting an elegant pose.

"Let's start with the ladies first"

Upon hearing this, Jean let out a short laugh before advancing toward the dummy. Sara watched her closely, wondering what exactly she would be able to do with her telekinetic powers. It wasn't just Sara who was curious; she could feel that Prime was even more intrigued than she was by Jean's powers.

As she approached the dummy, Jean placed her hand on its head and closed her eyes. Instantly, Prime felt ripples of energy emanating from her, extending rapidly toward the dummy at a dizzying speed.

Next, the dummy began to shake and crack, as if under tremendous pressure. However, instead of breaking apart, it was being compressed by an invisible force until it turned into a small compact ball.

Prime was seriously impressed by this display of power, imagining how devastating it could be if used on a human being or any other living thing.

"Honestly, I'm impressed by your strength. You could easily restrain an enemy with this" exclaimed Sara with a smile after approaching.

While everyone had used their powers in quite clever ways, both Sara and Prime had to admit that Jean's power surpassed the others' when it came to usability and, perhaps, even brute strength. If she somehow managed to manipulate gravity with her powers, she could probably create an artificial black hole.

"I agree, but I doubt they'd stay as quiet as this dummy" said Jean, with a sad smile on her lips. "Honestly, it's quite exhausting to restrain others using my powers. It demands a lot from my mind, but I still believe I could keep them under control, even if it was only for a few minutes"

After Jean's return, all eyes turned to Sara. It was evident that there was a great interest in witnessing Sara's powers firsthand. Although they had watched videos of her fighting several times, the experience of seeing it live was incomparable.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Sara inquired, stopping just in front of the dummy, with a pensive expression on her face.

(To be honest, I don't really care either way. Although I'm not really interested in showcasing everything we're capable of, I believe we can at least put on a show for them)

With Prime's thoughts echoing in her mind, Sara smiled. In the blink of an eye, her body was enveloped by a viscous red form, adorned with a white hood. Jean, Kitty, Scott, and Kurt watched the transformation with wide eyes. While they admired the scene, they also couldn't ignore the sense of awe that Sara's form inspired.

Looking down at her feet, Prime strengthened them, then vanished, leaving everyone confused and impressed. From their perspective, Sara seemed to have simply dissolved into thin air.

"I thought teleportation was my power" exclaimed Kurt, but he was ignored by everyone.

As everyone watched intently around, trying to figure out where Sara was, a figure emerged above the dummy. Before they realized, a deafening sound of metal echoed through the place, causing everyone to cover their ears. A wall of smoke formed where the dummy had been, leaving everyone bewildered.

And as the smoke cleared, a crater emerged where the dummy had been. Slowly, everyone approached the crater and, looking inside it, saw Sara. There was no sign of the dummy, only Sara. When her gaze was directed upwards, a feeling of terror washed over Scott, Jean, Kitty, and Kurt.

With an agile leap, Sara approached them. As they stared at the monster before them, they simply couldn't associate that creature with Sara. As she observed them, the monster tilted its head to the side, as if trying to understand them, as if studying them.

But this brief moment of terror soon dissipated as the slime began to recede, revealing Sara before them once again, with a confused expression on her face.

"What's wrong? Why are all of you looking at me like that?" Sara asked, observing the group's expressions.

Looking at each other, they sincerely didn't know how to approach the delicate subject that Sara's "Mutant form" as they decided to call it, terrified them in every possible way. So, all they could do was steer Sara away from the topic.

Meanwhile, in a room, Xavier watched the group training alongside Logan. While Logan was mostly impressed by Sara's feats, Xavier, on the other hand, attempted to access Sara's mind but was continuously blocked.

Xavier couldn't get a real sense of Sara's true strength, and something told him that what she had demonstrated so far in training was just a small sample of her abilities. This left Xavier extremely uncomfortable; the fact that he couldn't read Sara's mind only heightened his tension.

"This girl is quite impressive" exclaimed Logan with his usual indifferent expression.

"I agree with you, my friend. For now, it's best to observe her. Honestly, that creature she calls a friend is an enigma to me. We need to be cautious" said Xavier, pondering the situation with Logan.

Logan, as usual, thought his friend was overreacting, as in many cases. From Logan's point of view, the girl seemed to be like any other, perhaps a bit more feisty and combative, but still nothing that set her apart from others.

"Are you sure? I don't think she poses a threat. She seems relatively sociable too" 

Ororo brought up, also present in the room, looking at Xavier and Logan, who just shrugged. Neither of them ever could quite figure out what exactly was going on in Xavier's mind. To Ororo's uncertainty, Xavier simply replied.

"I sincerely hope you're right"