Ororo Munroe is now the rightful queen of Wakanda. Alas, her coronation is only half-done. The other half commences in the gardens of the heart-shaped herb.

Here, the herbs grow like irises...or did, rather, before Ms. Munroe required most of them to have her mutant powers subdued during the challenge by combat. They will grow back...alas, never as fast as terrorists would prefer, if they knew of the herb's potential.

Some parts of the flower glow, like violet lights. Here and there, beneficial moths fly, pollenating the herb.

Next, Ms. Munroe lies in a casket-sized pit, surrounded by red earth. From a wooden dish, they inoculate her with the heart-shaped herb.

Next, they bury her. Odds are, Ms. Munroe will meet her biggest inspiration, once she's safe and buried.

How the Black Panthers breathe while buried under that soil is a permanent mystery...

An eternity passes. Inside Ms. Munroe's body, the herb works miracles.

Her breasts swell. Her ass swells. Her lips get bigger. Outside, her mutant powers cause a light rain to fall, and a gale to blow. Thunder rumbles, but lightning is seldom seen.

Within Ms. Munroe's subconscious, she's taken to see a great king of humanity. She both expects and doesn't expect who she meets.

She's in Niamey. It was here, when she had her first conversation with Professor X. She was a petty thief, who often used the weather to aid her in her thefts. Lucky for her, Trask never deployed Sentinels here.

All around, a marketplace expands. There are many stashes of fruits, breads, livestock, clothing, pottery, and anything in Niamey anyone could want.

Alas, there are no merchants. In fact, Ms. Munroe's almost convinced she's the only person here... On the upside, she could take any of this shaz without paying consequences. OTOH, it feels too good to be true; and that's NEVER a good omen.

"Hello, Ororo."

She knows that voice anywhere. She turns, slowly, and acknowledges its source.

It's Charles Xavier, a mutant with psionic powers. He sits in a hoverchair, and hovers in the middle of the street.

"Charles," she acknowledges. "Part of me knew this was coming...even so, I hoped it would give me a miss."

"You are an X-Man, Ororo. You've done more than just fight and stop villains. You've taught a lot of my students, where I could not. You've survived the curse of vampirism."

"I have to do this, Charles. I have to know. Otherwise, I'm going to spend the rest of my career second-guessing my choice...whether that be as one of your X-Men, or queen of Wakanda, or something none of your other students have yet foreseen."

"My students HAVE foreseen your future. Few speak of it affectionately."

"I'm willing to take the risks. I know in my heart that T'Challa would want me to."

He smiles. "I understand your need. We'll all allow it, back at the X-Mansion. Even so, if this doesn't work out for you, your bed here at the X-Mansion will remain a spare."

"Thank you."

"It's just that... It might not be the same bed as before, but... No offense, but after you beat Nez in that challenge, we felt obligated to assign your old quarters to him."

"I get it. He can get as comfy as he wants to. I know I did a lot of mean things to him, but I meant no disrespect. I couldn't; that would've been two counts of betrayal: as a fellow mutant, and as a fellow...African."

"I wish you well. We all do. Good luck ruling Wakanda. I don't go there very much, but...I know they need good kings."

Ms. Munroe salutes Charles. "I'll do my best. They'll never have to worry about that."

Charles smiles, and starts to turn his hoverchair around...

"Professor?"

His hoverchair stops, and turns to where it was.

"Am I really perceiving this...or are you deliberately hijacking my visions?"

He smiles. "Of course you're perceiving this. But then...who's to say that I'm not hijacking your visions?" He winks, and teleports away, via the hoverchair.

Back in the real world, Ms. Munroe surfaces, and gasps. She's got red sand all over her.

She examines herself. She's much more mature-bodied than before...not that she wasn't. Except now, she's got red sand all over her.

"I NEED A BATH," she shouts.

Her new servants acknowledge this, and hoist her out of the sand, by her ebony arms. Red sand streams from her, as they pull her out.

Soon, she's sitting on the throne of Wakanda. She's got a golden laurel-shaped crown on her head. She wears much jewelry, and some of the nicest robes that vibranium wares can weave.

To either side of her, four of the five tribal reps sit. These days, they sit with two on each side.

There's always a chair vacant, for if the Mountain Tribe ever decides to send a rep to this court. Alas, they didn't under Ms. Munroe's predecessor's rule...or even his predecessor's...

Queen Ororo's even got a new scepter, too. It's golden, and bears the sculpted head of a panther at one end. In a way, it reminds Ororo of Jafar's snake staff, in Aladdin. She doubts, though, that she can hypnotize or mind-control anyone with it...

Alas, if it helped her control the weather any better, that'd be perfect. At this, she wonders what the labs here can do...

It sure can get lonely, as queen. Soon, Ororo will be longing for a pet... And T'Challa's off-limits...