I open my eyes, greeted by the familiar dark. I reach to my right for my mask. It isn't there.

Jolting up, I frantically feel around for it. My breath catches as someone gently pushes me back down on the bed.

"Woah, cool your jets, sleeping beauty!" I hear Leon's voice say.

"Where's my mask?"

"Calm down, we've got it."

I jump at the click of a door opening, and several smaller clicks from heels.

I hear a high-pitched gasp. "Thank Isiah you're… well!" Adara cries. "You were…er… Leon? What is that saying with the two faces very close to each other?"

Leon thinks. "Um- you mean face-to-face?"

Adara claps her hands. "Yes! Cyan Rush, you were face-to-face with that explosion. Any closer and you would have…" Her words trail off.

"I know, I almost died." But whose fault is that? I didn't want to get anywhere near that bomb. Mindy is the one who practically sent me to my death.

I feel my fingernails digging into my palms.

There's a moment of silence before I hear little whisperings of conversation. After a moment, I feel Adara's hand on mine.

"…You'll have to stay here and recover for a while, you realize." Adara states.

"What?"

"Your burns are pretty bad, Blue."

I frown. "What? What do you mean, I don't feel anything."

Another long bout of silence.

"Well, um-" Adara hesitates.

"Ada, why don't you go tell Mindy and Quinn that she's awake?" Leon offers.

"That's…a wonderful idea." The sound of heels fades away.

I reach to my eyes and rub the lids. I feel so exposed without my mask. My eyes have always been seen through the transparent, white-tinted lids of my mask, but without the barrier, I feel like I should hide them.

"Rush, can you look at me?"

I almost jump at the sound of Leon's voice.

"Hey, are you okay?"

My eyes turn towards the sound.

"Look me in the eyes, Rush."

Please don't find out. Please, please, please.

"Rush… are you-" Leon gently lifts my chin up. I can almost feel his eyes searching mine.

He takes it away. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I laugh nervously. "Seriously, Le-"

"Answer the question."

My hands grip the bedsheet. No, this can't be happening.

I start to breathe faster as I grab for answers.

"Five."

"No."

"Two."

"No."

A lumps wells up in my throat, and I turn my head to the side.

"Oh my go- the explosion did more damage than we thought." Leon says with slight panic in his voice.

For a second, I forget which explosion he's talking about.

"Wait- no, Leon. The explosion didn't do this. I was- I've always been" My voice breaks, "like this…"

"Blind? You've always been blind?!" He's almost yelling at me now. "Why didn't you tell me- us- sooner?"

I blink back tears as my voice wavers. "It didn't matter, the mask helps me see- and I haven't been blind my whole life."

"You-it… Rush…" He takes a deep sigh. "Tell me everything."

#************#

I swallow the lump in my throat and wait for Leon to respond. I wish I could see the look on his face. I wish I could tell what's going through his head.

I hear him get up. "Rush, you've had a hard life." His voice is raspy. Was he crying?

I laugh dryly. "That's an understatement."

"-But you're here, that has to mean something."

I lift my head. "What do you mean?"

He clears his throat. "Well, you could have died in two explosions. You have working legs. You're protecting an entire city, and- oh yeah- you're freaking Cyan Rush."

I smile. "You have a point."

I reach up and feel my eyes. "But I'm blind."

"We'll fix your mask."

My eyes widen. "What? You said you had it!"

"We do have it! It's just…crushed." I can almost imagine him shrugging.

"Well, you can fix it, right?" I ask hesitantly.

"We will, don't worry."

I cover my face. Why can't anything just go perfectly for once?

Leon takes my hands away from my eyes. "But, like Adara said, even when we fix it, you still have to recover before you can get back on your feet."

"Why? I feel fine, really."

"I know you feel fine, but you… still have…a little while to go before you're-um- 100% okay."

"What do you mean?" I press.

"Geez, Rush! Always with the questions." I hear the scrape of a chair and a door opening.

"Leon!"

"I have to talk with the rest of the team. I'll be back."

The door clicks closed, and I'm alone.