Hours after drifting into a deep, restful sleep, Tavor slowly sat up in bed and stretched his arms and legs wide, feeling the satisfying crack and pop of his tendons as tension melted away, drawing a long, contented sigh from his lips.
He sprang out of bed, landing lightly on his feet with a gentle thud, and flung open the curtains to let in a dazzling stream of late morning sunlight that wrapped young Tavor in its golden warmth.
"Good morning, sun!" He stood there in nothing but his boxers as he took in the sunlight, his tail swaying from side to side.
After basking in the comforting warmth of the sun's rays, Tavor moved away from the window and started pulling on his clothes. As his hand reached for his pants, his stomach let out a loud, feral growl, the kind that could only come from a hunger so sharp it seemed ready to pounce on whatever food crossed its path first.
A wave of weakness passed through Tavor, and he clutched his belly.
"Ugh, I hope that they are still having breakfast. I want my bacon strips!" He hurriedly threw on his pants and a shirt before slipping on a pair of flip-flops and throwing open his room door.
Outside the door, however, stood a small blonde girl with bright blue eyes, holding a stuffed teddy bear.
"Who are you?" Tavor looked down at the doll-like child, a soft smile on his face as he scratched his messy hair.
She looked up at him with sparkling blue eyes reminiscent of star sapphires. "My big brother Piotr told me to come get you so that you can get breakfast.
Tavor stopped in his tracks as his stomach let out another loud, angry growl.
He was about to clutch his midsection again, but before he could complete the motion, the girl seized his hand and firmly tugged him into the hallway.
"Cmon, brother says breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" She practically dragged Tavor deeper into the hallway, towards the direction of the cafeteria.
"My name is Illyana. What is yours?" she asked, squeezing both Tavor's hands and her stuffed bear.
"Mine is Tavor; it's nice to meet you!" As he talked, the tantalizing scent of the food wafted into his nose, causing his eyes to glaze over with yearning and a small trail of drool to slip from the corner of his mouth.
Illyana shoved the heavy cafeteria door open with her shoulder, and it swung inward with a creak.
A rush of warmth and the rich, savory scent of breakfast hit Tavor like a solid wall.
The air was thick with the aroma of crisp bacon, sizzling sausage, fluffy scrambled eggs, golden toast, pancakes dripping with syrup, and hash browns crackling on hot trays.
His nose twitched involuntarily, overwhelmed by the sudden flood of mouthwatering smells and his pupils shrank.
"F...food..."
Illyana giggled as she continued tugging him inside.
"I told you!"
The bustling cafeteria stretched before them, sunlight pouring through tall windows while conversations and laughter echoed across the room.
Teachers occupied one section of the hall.
At one table, Professor Xavier calmly sipped a cup of coffee while reading the morning paper, seemingly oblivious to the cheerful chaos surrounding him.
Nearby, Hank McCoy balanced an enormous stack of books beside an equally impressive plate piled with scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, fruit, and toast.
Storm sat gracefully across from them, eating a modest breakfast while quietly chatting with Jean Grey.
Logan occupied the far end of the table; he silently shoveled bacon into his mouth with astonishing speed.
An entire platter already sat empty beside him, while another was rapidly following.
Across the cafeteria...
The older students were considerably louder.
Laughter erupted from one table as Bobby Drake attempted to balance a pancake on his fork before flicking it toward Warren.
The blond mutant caught it effortlessly.
John sighed into his orange juice while in his other hand he was playing with the flame from a lighter. "I can't believe that worked."
"Skill," Bobby declared proudly. "Pure skill."
A groan escaped Rogue as she buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe Ah'm friends with y'all."
The entire room carried an easy warmth that made the mansion feel less like a school, and more like a family.
Then...
Tavor's eyes slowly drifted toward the largest table, and his jaw dropped.
"Oh..."
"My..."
"God."
Food, mountains of it.
Towering stacks of pancakes.
Entire platters overflowing with bacon.
Bowls filled to the brim with oatmeal.
Dozens of eggs, and slabs of steaks.
Chicken breasts and rice.
Potatoes and fruit.
Pitchers of milk and mugs filled with juice of multiple flavors.
It looked less like breakfast and more like preparations for feeding a small army.
Sitting at the center of the feast was Piotr.
The massive Russian smiled pleasantly as he methodically worked through his breakfast.
One moment he was finishing an entire stack of pancakes, and the next, half a dozen eggs disappeared.
Then an entire steak vanished, followed by another fistful of bacon.
Illyana beamed with unmistakable pride. "My brother eats a lot."
Tavor pointed dramatically. "That's enough food for an entire village!"
Piotr looked up from his breakfast, and his broad face brightened immediately. "Tavor!"
He stood, his towering frame somehow appearing even larger than it had inside the Hyperbolic Mind Space.
A few nearby students instinctively glanced over as the giant waved.
"It is good to see you awake."
Tavor swallowed. "...You're eating all of that?"
Piotr glanced down at the collection of empty plates surrounding him. "Oh."
He smiled sheepishly.
"I have already finished most of breakfast."
Tavor blinked. "...Most?"
The giant nodded matter-of-factly.
"My physique requires a tremendous number of calories and protein to maintain."
He speared another steak with his fork.
"My mutation, transforming into organic steel, also burns an extraordinary amount of energy."
He took a bite before continuing. "If I do not eat enough..." he paused to finish chewing his food. "...I become very tired."
Tavor stared at the mountain of food.
Then...
His own stomach chose that exact moment to unleash its loudest growl yet.
GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!!
The cafeteria fell silent, and every head slowly turned toward him.
Tavor froze; a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
Piotr let out a hearty laugh before turning towards the little blonde girl with the bear. "Illyana, can you help him gather himself some plates of food?"
Illyana nodded before dragging Tavor over to the table Piotr was sitting at and dragging several plates of food that reached nearly mountainous proportions over to Tavor's side. "Brother, you don't need ALL of this; you are going to get fat!"
Illyana folded her tiny arms across her chest, looking up at the mountain of food with complete confidence.
"See?"
She looked back at Tavor.
"I told brother you didn't need this much."
Tavor wasn't listening. His pupils had contracted to tiny pinpricks, and his whole body was frozen in an eerie stillness. The only sign of life was the slow, deliberate movement of his tail.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
It slapped eagerly against the floor behind him.
Piotr chuckled warmly.
"Please, eat."
That was all the invitation Tavor needed.
"THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD!"
The little Saiyan sprang forward, and in an instant, the first towering stack of pancakes was gone without a trace.
Mere moments later, the second met the same fate.
Bacon, devoured.
Eggs, obliterated.
Toast, vanished.
Hash browns, erased.
Sausages, consumed.
The sheer speed was almost frightening, his fork slicing through the air in a dizzying blur as he demolished the feast with unstoppable enthusiasm.
Plates were cleared almost as swiftly as the cafeteria staff could place them, the clatter of cutlery fading into a hushed stillness that settled over the room. The lively chatter gave way to an expectant silence, and Bobby, his curiosity piqued, slowly lowered his fork.
"What in god's name, where does it all go?"
John blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
"I… I don't think he even chewed."
Logan froze mid-motion, a strip of bacon suspended halfway to his mouth.
For the first time that morning, he was not eating, but merely observing.
Storm raised a hand to her mouth with polite restraint, while Jean's gaze remained fixed, unblinking. Hank adjusted his glasses with quiet precision.
"Remarkable," he murmured, his notebook somehow materializing in his grasp. "The caloric intake of Homo superior has long intrigued me, but this…" His pen began moving rapidly across the page, his focus unbroken. "…this verges on the biologically impossible."
Across the table, Piotr kept eating without a care in the world.
He polished off another steak, reached over for a fresh helping of eggs, and washed it down with a gulp of milk.
Mid-sip, he glanced to the side, and his smile wavered.
Every single plate that had been set in front of Tavor was completely bare.
The little Saiyan casually licked a streak of syrup from his cheek and looked up with an innocent expression. "...More?"
A vein pulsed visibly on the forehead of one cafeteria worker, who echoed in disbelief, "...More?"
Another tray arrived, only to disappear almost instantly.
Then another came and was gone in a flash, followed by yet another that vanished just as quickly.
Tavor devoured breakfast with the relentless force of a natural disaster; entire stacks of pancakes were gone in seconds, bowls of oatmeal consumed before they had a chance to cool.
A dozen eggs vanished without hesitation, two dozen strips of bacon demolished in moments, three steaks obliterated, and four glasses of milk emptied in rapid succession.
The towering pile of dirty dishes beside him grew higher and higher until it loomed nearly twice his height, a monument to his unstoppable appetite.
Bobby slowly counted under his breath, eyes widening with each number.
"…Thirty-four…"
"…Thirty-five…"
"…Thirty-six plates…"
His jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Dude. He's beating Piotr."
Piotr glanced down at his own breakfast, then over at Tavor, then back again to his plate.
"…I believe…" he said with a polite smile, "…he is."
Illyana's small mouth fell open in astonishment. She looked from her brother to Tavor, and back again.
"…Brother… he eats more than you."
Piotr gave a single, thoughtful nod.
"It would appear so."
Logan let out a short, amused snort.
"Heh. Kids got potential."
Even Xavier lowered his newspaper, one eyebrow arching ever so slightly at the spectacle unfolding before him.
"This should not be possible for a mutant of his size. I'll ask Jean to run some scans later and make sure that he is healthy!"
After several minutes of clearing away numerous stacks of plates and bowls, Tavor offered his thanks to Illyana and Piotr before rising from the table.
He had just begun to make his way toward the door when he suddenly felt a firm hand clasp around his wrist.
Turning, he found Illyana holding onto him, a delicate blush tinting her cheeks and nose as her eyes met his.
"My brother and I are going into the city later; would you like to come with us?" she asked, her gaze bright with anticipation.
Tavor's face warmed instantly, a noticeable flush spreading across his features. "S... Sure, I'd love to!" he stammered, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips.