When they got to the restaurant, Bruce ordered a milkshake and tried to take a bite of his salad. Tony asked, watching Bruce push his food around with his fork, "Can you physically not eat or is it psychological?"
"Both I suppose," said Bruce. "I don't have an appetite. After I woke from coma, I ate because the clock said I should, but after the first couple bites, I was forcing the food into my mouth. Even with food I like, I can only eat a bit or two. I'm better with liquids. That's why I ordered the milkshake."
"Are you returning to Asgard?" asked Thor.
"If I go back, I may get big, again, and my G-tube will fall out and my belly hole will heal over," Bruce explained. "Then I will need to rush back to Misgard to get a new hole, and finding food stuff, that doesn't need to be chewed and/or broken down by saliva on Asgard will be hard. Since my problem is, at least, partially psychological, eating all the golden apples on Asgard may not fix me."
"How does Sif feel about that?"
"She says she'll stay here if that is what I want," said Bruce. "She loves the girls. She's teaching them how to fight like an Asgard warriors. She is even helps Jubilee with her energy bursts. Kitty tell me Sif calls her 'Warrior Kitten' and 'Lioness'. Teenage girls are nervous fighting around boys and the boys show off to impress the girls."
"Mutants or not," said Jane. "They are still teenagers."
"Logan, what do you teach?" asked Nat.
"I may give a class on Japanese," said Logan. "Steve said Konnichiwa and I'm going off with both barrels blazing. I know karate and am a regular Samurai."
Tony said, "You really met Steve during World War II?"
Logan drank some beer. "I was in the background of a picture taken of Captain America."
Clint said, "Nat was born in the late 1930's or early 1940's. She doesn't remember her exact age. And you fought with Steve, so you don't have to be embarrassed about your age."
After he sipped a bit of his milkshake, Bruce asked, "May I?"
Logan finished off his beer and waved to the waitress. After he had a full mug in front of him, Logan said, "I have amnesia. I wake up every night from nightmares of being tortured."
"Man," said Tony.
"Storm tells me that Logan is sixteen years old and a student," said Bruce. "That was before I accidentally touched this girl, that Logan also touched twice, that drains the life force out of people. Here I am worrying that my hair will turn white and my teeth will fall out."
"Bruce slept for over a day after Rogue touched him," said Logan. "Sif was at his bedside the whole time, crying."
"You did explain to Bruce that you have amnesia and your memory only goes back 16 years," said Nat.
"Storm told me you had amnesia," said Bruce. "But she said it like an afterthought, after I questioned your age, like you would if you were covering the truth."
"And you wonder why we didn't drop off Howie and Tamar at the school," said Nat.
"Rogue wears gloves and is very careful," said Bruce.
"I touched her the second time to give her my healing." Logan drank more of his beer. "I sacrificed myself for her and she falls for Bobby. I caught them sharing saliva."
Jane said, "He sounds 16."
"Bobby doesn't heal," said Bruce. "When Rogue touches us, she takes our healing so we lose consciousness. Logan, you would have to fall for the one girl you can't have."
Tony said, "You're making headway on the shake. You can drink your Ensure."
"I drink it," said Bruce.
"You didn't see Bruce," said Steve. "He has always been thin, but he was scary thin. Give him a break - he's gaining weight."
"You can tell Fury that I've retired from the Avengers for medical reasons." said Bruce.
Tony gave him dirty look.
Nat said, "He can't tell a hospital that he lost his belly hole because he turned into a green rage monster. And we don't need a Hulk that is weak from hunger."
"Thanks, Nat," said Bruce.
"We can't have you fainting on the bad guys," said Clint. "Although that would be funny."
Bruce smirked. "I don't think so."
"Do you still need 4 times more calories than a normal person?" asked Steve.
"No," said Bruce. "Odin fixed my metabolism. Here I was a giant and I was eating less than I did at this size. I calculate my calories for a man my height, who does moderate exercise, and my weight gain has been on the mark. Odin gave me that and I can heal any wound fast without scar tissue without needing to get big and green. That's really nice."
Jane said, "It sounds like your doing well."
"I am," said Bruce. "I'm going to the doctor with Sif next week. We're going to have an ultrasound. I'll be sure to show you pictures of our daughter next time we get together."
Nat said, "Do you have a code name like Storm and Cyclops?"
"Wolverine," said Logan. "It was on my dog tags. I don't know how I got it."
Steve said, "He growls and has claws."
Logan growled as on cue.
Nat said, "Bruce's wife is expecting, Thor and Jane just had a baby and Howie is eighteen months old. You and Pepper should be getting on the baby bandwagon."
Tony said, "I'm not father material."
"Those wood-shop tools in your basement say otherwise." Bruce ended up drinking two large milkshakes, although he only took two bites of salad all evening. On the way home, Tony bought him a gallon of ice cream, Hershey's syrup and two gallons of milk.
The following night, Bruce, Sif and a bunch of students made milkshakes and sundaes. Bruce really enjoyed the milkshake after he forced himself to take a second sip. Then he realized Rogue didn't cause his problem. His mind not talking to his stomach was mind-control. Professor Xavier must have read his mind about drinking the milkshakes after he returned home from the restaurant and had to let him enjoy them at home to keep from being found out. Although it was nice to be needed after being a fugitive for so long, Professor Xavier needed another toy to play with, and Bruce would tell him so.
Bruce went to Xavier's office. "Sir, my wife and I talked and I like to continue teaching here for as long as you will have me."
"You're a good teacher," said Professor Xavier. "I would hate have to replace you. If I can get your medical license reinstated, would you consider the position of X-Men physician?"
"I'm not a mutant," said Bruce.
"You don't have to be a mutant to bandage people up. Actually, I prefer that you're not," said Xavier.
"We'll talk if I ever get my license reinstated," said Bruce.
Professor Xavier smiled. "That isn't a no."
"It isn't a yes, either." Bruce said, "Stay out of my mind. I have a G-tube because you won't let me eat. I intrigue you because you can't track me with Cerebro. I may be a small fuzzy animal with big sharp teeth, but I have friends whose teeth are even sharper."
There wasn't a computer built that didn't give all its secrets to Tony. And the best secret was Asgardians couldn't be tracked by Cerebro any more than dogs, alligators or any other non-human animal. Bruce loved Odin at this moment. Thank Odin for cleaning up his DNA. If it was DNA. Bruce would have to sit down with a electron microscope the next time he visited Tony.
"Don't get upset," said Professor Xavier.
"I'm totally calm." Bruce smiled. "See. I'd like to be able to enjoy my food, again. I need to watch my pulse when I make love to my wife. I need to keep my emotions in check all the time, but food was the one thing I could give into totally, and you knew that."
Less than a second later, Bruce could feel his mouth water for the first time in weeks. Because he wouldn't feel right about having the Hulk toss a disabled man around no matter how good it would have felt, Bruce walked away. He went to the kitchen to get a bowl of ice cream, but the ice cream Tony bought yesterday was gone. There was still some milk, so he poured himself a bowl of cold cereal.
Xavier talked to other people mind-to-mind. Not him. The man would want to explain himself. That, obviously, meant he couldn't talk to him mind-to-mind. Bruce didn't have enough data to know if that was because Odin had tampered with him or some other reason. Xavier would never allowed Bruce to starve to death, so it was a show of power - nothing more.
Even with his appetite back, Bruce only managed a few bites. He would have to wean himself off the G-tube slowly, needing to be careful, so he didn't lose any of the weight he gained since watching his calorie intake. But it could be done. After going to his bedroom, he got into his pajamas and put his bag on the IV stand for the night then cuddled into bed beside his pregnant wife.