37 Talk in a Tent

*KEN'S POV*

Another war zone and more people suffering. I was in my Senju loadout running a medical tent just...helping. Some soldiers came by trying to get payment or something, they are currently laying in a broken heap outside town.

I was depressed which was weird because I was usually pretty fast when moving on. I'd cry for like a day and move on; I wouldn't dwell on it so long. In my first life the last time I cried was when Alex died. Something was off it took me a while, but I noticed that I was more down than usual.

It was like something was hanging over me and no matter what I couldn't shake it. It was an unnatural feeling, like a shadow that wanted to consume me. It was something I never felt before, and it felt all encompassing and all consuming.

Getting up and going to get some fresh cloths for my patient I came across Alex I decided to ask.

Ken: "Why? Why is this fucking me up so badly? I've been pretty fast when moving on when it comes to loss? So why us this fucking me so badly? Is...is someone or something doing this to me?"

I wasn't shouting just speaking quietly, almost a whisper that was somewhat desperate.

Alex: "*Snort* I said that you were bad with emotions. Do you really think you "dealt" with your emotions?

Naw, you bottled that shit up and moved on. Years and years of doing that, and then years and years of stress...do I need to go on?"

Grabbing the cloths I went back to my patient and gave it to them. They were crying and giving thanks.

Alex: "You were the one paying for her treatment, weren't you?"

Turning towards my next patient I waved them forward. They entered looking at me like they were about to experience a miracle.

Alex: "Regret is another big part, her treatment was reliant on you, wasn't it? That's why you were working two jobs right? Jay was barely making ends meet and had a kid on the way. Shaun was going through college and working a part time job that barely helped cover the cost of school. She was reliant on you...and you died leaving them alone, its eating you up."

Looking at the infected wound I began to heal it noticing the other little problems and began to heal them as well. I looked at them and began to think about what cloths I needed for them.

Alex: *Sigh* And then there is me. You got me into that help group only for me to OD as soon as I left the group.

You paid for my funeral, and you had to work double shifts just to pay for it. You blamed yourself for not being more involved in my life.

You know I think I'm the reason why your Ryu clone mainly went after drug dealers."

After getting cloths for my last patient and sending them off I waved forth my next patient. It was a mother and a little boy who was missing an arm.

I started with the boy I regrew his arm which brought both of them to tears. I worked swiftly almost like a robot. My pace however was broken when the boy crashed into my legs.

Looking down I saw a teary-eyed kid, smiling up at me. I smiled back and patted him on his head. His mother was trying to get him off of me, but honestly, I didn't mind.

"Are you an angel?"

I blinked in surprise, was I an angel? No, no I wasn't I'm just a guy...I'm just human. Turning towards the entrance I waved the next person forward.

Alex: "All that stuff builds up, and before you could just walk it off move on, sure you felt the guilt, but you had some level of control over the situation.

You could work harder, pay for the treatments needed...but now. You feel like a rat in a maze running around for the entertainment for others."

Those sounded like excuses, I had regrets of course, but who didn't after all. These feelings however...it was like every negative emotion I had ever felt, no...every loss I had suffered was thrown back into my face and amplified.

I found myself questioning my existence and even contemplating suicide, something I had never done before even at my lowest. Although one could argue that this is my lowest, but I'd like to believe that I'm made of sterner stuff.

These feelings felt somewhat forced subtle in a way that a normal person wouldn't notice, but forced all the same, and constant. Like a hunger that needed to be quenched, it took me time to focus on it, and even then, it's like trying to grasp smoke, with your hands. A part of me was screaming that something was off, and I agreed with that part of me whole heartedly.

After I sent them on their way I turned to the next person in line. I worked through a few more patients before the silence was broken again.

"HE never blamed you...you know that right? HE OD because he was running, but not from you or your family...you know that right?"

My eyes drifted towards Alex. He was sitting on a crate in the darkest corner of the tent. The shadows seemed to consume him, I summoned two daggers, but before I could say anything the sound of a jet coming closer made everyone pause in fear, and me grunt in annoyance.

Closing my eyes and ignoring Alex that was now humming the Justice League Unlimited theme I snapped my fingers and waved the person forward. I didn't want to talk with them but, I also wasn't about to leave so...

The only thing to do is mind my business and ignore them. The people around me seemed restless and scared. I had to reassure them multiple times so they wouldn't leave.

It had taken me several hours to get them to trust me. I had no intentions of having them scurry away because someone wanted to talk to me.

The wind from the jet shook my makeshift tent violently. It absolutely terrified the refugees, but I gave them my best reassuring smile. From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex jumping up and down pointing at the entrance of the tent...he was also wearing a Batman T-shirt.

Frightened murmuring surrounded me as the footsteps of three individuals came closer towards the tent. The person that I was working on kept on glancing at the entrance of the tent clearly frightened.

The whispers came to a halt as the tent flap opened. Two brightly dressed individuals entered flanked by a man dressed as a bat.

I ignored them in favor of grabbing a set of new cloths for my patient. As soon as I gave it to them, they rushed out giving the trio a wide birth.

One it was the four of us in the tent I looked passed them and motioned for the person just outside the tent to come in.

They stared at the heroes and scooted back some. I looked at them Superman stepped forward mouth opening to speak only for me to cut him off.

Ken: "You are in the way and are frightening them. Please step aside so I can treat them."

Superman blinked in surprise and looked back at the people outside my tent. Both Wonder Woman and Batman never stopped looking at me, both studying me.

I really didn't care, and I couldn't stop them if I wanted. I mean if I killed them then maybe but that's really not on my to do list at the moment.

When Superman turned back to me, I motioned for them to move aside, they did so slowly. It took about another minute for me to coax my next patient in.

They kept an eye on the heroes and seemed ready to run, I whispered words of comfort as I worked. I knew that they were watching me studying my move movements, trying to figure out how my powers worked.

I pay them no mind, however. Getting up I went to the trunk that held the cloths. It produced a full set of cloths for the last person I touched. It was a colorful chest mainly blue and gold, the inside however was pitch black.

I reached into the void and pulled out another full set of cloths, shirt, pants, socks, shoes, undies the works really. I normally wouldn't go this far but the majority only had rags to cover themselves with.

I saw Superman's eyes shine white while I reached inside and give his two companions a meaningful look afterwards. I again pushed the thoughts of the up-and-coming conversation to the back of my mind, I currently had more important things to do.

Mid-day turned into dusk and then into night, they had several times try to start a conversation only to be ignored. I normally would provide some food and water but the soldiers that were here had a big caravan with rations and water, so I had little to worry about there.

As my past patient left, I turned towards the trio. They had questions, and they had seen me regrow limbs and make terminal diseases vanish with a touch. I know they saw because of Superman. He had on more than one occasion watched me work and I heard him tell the others about what I did.

Batman's gaze was stern, and I could see him studying me, Wonder Woman was also studying me but there was a slight look of...indignation there?

I wonder if she knows that I'm the one who cried wolf at the store. Mentally shrugging I turned towards Superman and gestured him to speak.

Superman: "Hello you may call me Superman; this is Wonder Woman and Batman.

We were here looking for someone named Ronin, but we came across you instead.

May I get your name?"

I looked at him blankly before I answered. "No."

The silence was now more awkward, and I don't regret it. I apparently am going through some mental shit and possibly something else and I don't appreciate these assholes stepping in while I'm trying to work through it.

I turned towards Wonder Woman who had stepped up eyes focus on me. "You are that boy at the store who accused me of...propositioning you."

Her voice dripped with indignation and anger; her hand caressed the handle of her sword. Superman looked confused while Batman's eyes somehow narrowed more. Like is his mask fitted to his face? Or is it like an electronic thing?

Hmmm I should answer she looks trigger happy and swings. "I have no recollection of such an event occurring."

Her face twisted making several interesting expressions, but the one thing that stayed the same were her irritated eyes. She opened her mouth, but I turned towards Batman hoping he'd be straight forward so I can get going.

Ken: "I take it that there is more you wish to say...because if not then I have things to attend to."

Batman stepped forward and in front of a fuming Wonder Woman. "Your abilities, are they natural or from an outside source."

A good question, one that I don't have a solid answer to. Shrugging I decided to be truthful about it. I would hate for them to feel the need to bring out the lasso and I'm not confident I'm my ability to fight them and avoid the lasso.

At least two of them can move as fast as light...I think. I'm not sure where they stand on the power scale it would be for the best to be cautious. For all I knew I could be dealing with the Superman that had to travel to a different universe to sneeze or the one that could be taken down with glorified tazer.

Ken: "I didn't always have these powers, and I'm not sure how I got them just that one day I had them."

I wasn't going to lie per se, but I wasn't about to tell them my life story. Half-truths and water downed versions of my powers was all they would get.

Batman: "What exactly are your abilities and how do they work."

Ken: "I can change a person on a molecular level, even regrowing limbs, but it has limits. I can bring someone back from the brink of death, but I can't alter them beyond restoring them to their previous state and I need physical contact for it to work."

Superman nodded in understanding, Wonder Woman gave me a glare of suspicion and Batman's eyes narrowed.

Batman: "You can manipulate someone on a molecular level but can't alter them?"

His doubt was loud and clear, but this was something I wasn't going to budge on. I of course could but I wasn't going to let them and thus everyone else at one point or the other know I could.

Ken: "If you cave me a metal and told me to fuse it with someone's bones, I wouldn't be able to do it. The best I could accomplish is placing it someone's body. I can't manipulate non-organic things for some reason."

Total bull and something told me that we both knew it, I had regrown a few limbs in front of them, so I could modify someone's body. He grunted with displeasure eyes narrowing further somehow and took a step forward. He got closer and...oh was he trying to intimidate me?

Wow look at him go, he'd entered my personal space and was towering over me. He was trying to intimidate me...nice. I wonder how many he had done this too and had little to no result. Because like this isn't really working.

Ken: "I don't roll that way."

The room stilled Superman's mouth hung open and even Wonder Woman stopped glaring at me to raise an eyebrow. His eyes again narrowed, and he stared for a moment before grunting and backing off.

They all seemed to share a look a silent conversation. It was Superman this time who came forward. "Your abilities no matter how they work are powerful. We can't allow you to roam freely.

You'll have to have a 24hr watch or, you could join a team that we have been making. It has teens with powers like yourself."

He had smiled and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I was not impressed however, either serve or become a glorified prisoner. I had no interest in getting involved or following a script, I have my own shit to do.

Ken: "No thanks."

I had removed Superman's hand and turned to begin packing. It was just as I thought this entire conversation was a waste of words.

I packed some stuff before Batman broke the silence again. "We aren't asking -"

Ken: "Then it's a good thing that I don't care about your opinion."

I turned facing them again. "You don't own me or this world, you have no say in what I do. Now don't you have better things to do than bother me?"

They stared at me, and I stared back. I didn't want this, but u wasn't about to bend the knee to these assholes.

Before anyone could end the silence all three of their communicators beeped. Batman frowned still staring at me. "This isn't over, we'll be ba-"

Ken: "This is over you just refuse to acknowledge it."

They looked at me a little longer before turning and leaving. After they left, I went and unsummoned my chest and a few other items before turning towards were I last saw Alex.

He was gone, the feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach. I began to doubt that he was a hallucination, which in all honesty I would prefer to a cosmic being taking interest.

I hope I'm just experiencing super depression or something...its better than nearly all of the alternatives.