Whatever It Takes

5.5

In the morning, the four of us meet Banner at a diner in the city. The shrinking man and I sit in one side of a booth, Natasha and the Captain in the other. Banner sits at the end in a chair he's pulled up, a large plate piled high with pancakes. Saucers filled with eggs and sausages sit in front of him, probably a hundred each. Our little mugs of coffee are nothing compared to his pitcher.

We tell him of our findings, the shrinking man relaying the same message to Stark. We get the same looks as Banner chows down.

Then he gestures to the food, looking down at us. "Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating here. Try some of that. Have some eggs," he pushes the bowl of eggs toward the shrinking man and me.

The shrinking man can only stare. "I'm so confused."

"These are confusing times," Banner chuckles.

"Right, no, no. That's not what I meant. I-"

"Nah, I get it. I'm kidding!" He pours syrup over his mountain of pancakes. "I know, it's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now." He rolls up a flapjack, tearing it in half.

"Yeah. What? How? Why?"

He takes a bite, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Five years ago, we got our asses beat. Except it was worse for me, 'cause I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost, and then, we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Natasha consoles.

"I did." He looks to her softly, and she pulls her gaze down to the table. "For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then, I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in the gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together, and now, look at me." He leans back and spreads his arms. "Best of both worlds."

A trio of children walks up to us, eyes on Banner.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?" a girl asks.

"Yes?"

"Can we get a photo?"

"One-hundred-percent, little person." He takes her phone. "Come on, step on up. Do you mind?" He extends the phone to the shrinking man.

The shrinking man takes it, amused. "Oh, yeah, yeah."

"Thanks." He takes off his glasses and makes a fist. "Say 'green.'"

The shrinking man gets up to squat on the booth, needing to back away further to capture them all. The four of them smile, chanting "green" through gritted teeth.

"Did you get that?" Banner asks him, still smiling.

He checks it, nodding. "That's a good one." He returns back to sitting, handing back the phone. "Did you want to grab one with me? I'm Ant-Man." The kids look at one another, unsure. He nods, understanding. "They're Hulk fans. They don't know Ant-Man. Nobody does."

"No, no, no, he wants you to take a picture," Banner encourages, smiling at the kids.

They only back away, shaking their heads. "Stranger danger," one of them mutters.

"Yeah, look, he's even saying no, he doesn't," the shrinking man says, embarrassed now.

"But, come on," Banner tries.

"I get it, I don't want it either."

"The kid, you-"

"I don't want a picture with them."

"He's gonna feel bad."

"Sorry," he says, trying to give back the phone.

"They're happy to do it. They said they'll do it."