Nick Fury had never imagined that someone like Magneto would actually steal plant seeds.
It was as though he and the X-Men collecting living organisms had clearly divided up the work.
After all, most of the organisms the X-Men collected were animals, with plants making up only a small portion.
Taken together, Magneto's actions and those of the X-Men clearly amounted to one side collecting plants and the other collecting plants, with a clear division of labor.
Nick Fury felt that something important must have happened among the mutants without his knowledge.
Could it be because of that mutant boy?
It seemed he needed to have a talk with Professor X.
Putting down the documents in his hands, Nick Fury decided almost without hesitation to go and get some information from Professor X.
"I understand the situation now. Hill, go get Coulson for me."
"Yes, Director."
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Nick Fury's gaze grew increasingly inscrutable.
I hope you aren't preparing anything dangerous. Otherwise, the mutants will need a proper warning.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Director, you wanted to see me?"
Before long, Coulson, with his friendly face and precarious hairline, arrived at Nick Fury's office.
Without wasting any time, Nick Fury explained the X-Men's and Magneto's recent efforts to collect living organisms.
"Coulson, come with me to see Professor X."
"By the way, have Natasha and Clint returned?"
Nick Fury also asked about the whereabouts of his other two capable subordinates.
"They've just returned from their mission. Do you need me to call them over?"
Coulson had clearly seen what he was thinking and took the opportunity to suggest it.
"No need. I'll brief them on this mission. Go make the preparations."
Nick Fury assigned Coulson to make the preparations, then went to find Natasha and Clint himself to explain the situation.
Before long, a Quinjet took off from S.H.I.E.L.D., plunged into the sea of clouds, and vanished.
Cyclops used his mark to enter Krakoa's space with another batch of collected organisms.
A group of animals, sorted into separate cages, let out all sorts of roars and cries at the sudden change in their surroundings.
Cyclops ignored the frightened animals and headed straight toward a patch of land where seeds had clearly only recently been planted.
A group of people were arguing around it.
"Magneto and his people stole all these seeds, didn't they?"
"Jean, did you see when they planted these seeds?"
"The Brotherhood of Mutants stole so many seeds this time. Will this make humans hate us even more?"
"Hank, you're overthinking it. They're just some seeds. Magneto was doing it to get Krakoa's ecosystem into shape as soon as possible, after all. We can't exactly dig up every last seed and return them, can we?"
"Hey! Guys! I'm telling you, you're really overthinking this. We have Krakoa now. Do we still need to fear threats from humans?"
"Damn it, can't one of you come help me sort out these animals? If they like planting things, let them. It saves us some trouble, too."
When Cyclops came closer, he saw the X-Men gathered around a patch of ground where holes had simply been dug and seeds buried.
The ground clearly hadn't been prepared with any care. The mounds covering the seeds were scattered haphazardly, with spacing and soil loosening all arranged on a whim.
Looking around, he could see pits and mounds everywhere on the surrounding ground, arranged as casually and willfully as a child's doodles.
Phoenix, Beast, and Storm were taking turns discussing Magneto's robbery.
Wolverine stood to one side, taking deep drags on his cigar and complaining impatiently as he pointed at the mountain of animal cages nearby.
As for Dark Phoenix, he had no idea why she wasn't with them.
"Logan, these animals are the last batch. We can take our time collecting the others that are harder to get."
"Need a hand?"
Because of Dark Phoenix, Cyclops's relationship with Wolverine had eased considerably.
He greeted Wolverine naturally.
"Oh, damn you, Scott! Of course I need your help!
"If you hadn't collected these animals so fast, why would I be stuck here sorting out these damn animals?"
Exhaling a large cloud of smoke, Wolverine looked at Cyclops with displeasure.
If it weren't for developing Krakoa as quickly as possible, he wouldn't have wasted his time here. He should have been spending some proper time with Cassie.
With so many tragic experiences in his past, Wolverine had spent most of his time living alone.
Although everyone here had been friendly since he joined the academy, he still felt lonely.
And now that Dark Phoenix, Cassie, was all but certain to become his lover, he would naturally cherish her.
At the thought of Dark Phoenix, Cassie, Wolverine's eyes narrowed slightly.
Unfortunately, she still needed to study with the professor to learn how to control her emotions, as well as acquire some necessary knowledge.
"Scott, you're back. Let's get these animals settled as soon as possible!"
"Erik seems to have brought in all the seeds he stole. Let's go look for them. Maybe they'll need our help?"
Phoenix turned around, looked at Cyclops and the cages he had brought back, and spoke after a moment's thought.
Although Phoenix felt that Magneto stealing seeds was wrong, she wasn't particularly repulsed by it.
She also knew Magneto had done it to develop Krakoa as quickly as possible. After all, where else could they collect more seeds than in a seed bank?
"All right, Jean. You took the words right out of my mouth."
Cyclops thought the same as Phoenix. When it came to developing Krakoa, he agreed with Magneto's methods in his heart.
"Ms. Jean, Mr. Scott, you're all here! The professor sent me to get you. It seems someone has arrived outside the academy."
Just then, Shadowcat jogged over from nearby. She caught her breath slightly and addressed everyone present.
"Kitty, did the professor say who it was?"
"No, Ms. Ororo. The professor only asked for all of you to come out together."
Storm frowned and looked at the others.
"Since the professor asked, let's all go out and see what's happening."
Beast spoke to the others without hesitation. He knew the professor must have a reason for calling them out at a time like this.
"Pah! I've been sick of hanging around these animals for ages. This is a good chance to go see whether some fool has come looking for trouble."
Spitting the short stub of cigar left in his mouth onto the ground, Wolverine grinned.