There are none so blind as those who see

Ai hadn't been sure about this at first. Now? She was far less sure. Both of Chimera Squad's resident psis were sitting with Valere as the girl slept on. Both Shelter and Verge were very worried about Valere, just as Ai and the Lady were.

But this, Ai had to do alone. There were secrets that had to be kept and- She went still as the main personnel door to the modified railroad terminal that Chimera used as an HQ opened and two forms stepped in. Well, one stepped, the other slithered! One, Ai did not know. The other, Ai recognized form the same memorial wall where she had seen Aroa and Jack!

"Arisha." Ai breathed as the youngest Viper in Alley's next eyed her, but most of Ai's attention was on the man who stood beside the Viper. His black skull mask was jarring, but his posture was resigned. "You shouldn't be here, Arisha." Ai all but pleaded but the Viper crossed her arms and glared at Ai defiantly.

"She insisted on coming." The psionic warrior held up hands in a helpless gesture. "If Alley wasn't busy, she would be here too."

"Which is probably what the Cult wants." Ai said with a sudden gasp of worry. "Either or both of you out of protections!" She slumped as Arisha did not speak. "I,… Arisha. What do you know?"

"I know you and the ones you are hunting are not supposed to be here." Arisha said flatly. "Lizbeth is pissed."

"Is she here?" Ai asked, feeling faint. Lizbeth was a mess. She had been human, or something similar once. Then she had run afoul of Alley during the mess where Jain had come to this time and all hell had broken loose. She had been an enemy at first, but then she had changed. Now? She had sworn her service to Alley. She called Alley her mother! She was very powerful and very disciplined. A scary combination in any, let alone someone who knew how to move between realities. Her dedication to Alley was unbreakable for many reasons, some of which were very bad. That said? She had caused a lot of pain and heartbreak. It hadn't been all of her fault and she had been trying to fix things, or so Ai had been told by various people she trusted, but still… It had been a hell of a mess. It was a good thing she wasn't here or it would be even more of a mess. Ai relaxed a little as both of the psis shook their heads. "Okay. Good. I guess."

"She is watching. So is Jian." Arisha said quietly and Ai noted Syndrome did not react. She eyed the black mask and he gave her a tiny nod. Good. He knew what not to say. "Speaking of… Jian is quite cross with you." Ai froze solid and Arisha nodded. "You disregarded Jian's wishes when you came here. She did not want you to do this."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one, Operative Arisha. I was available." Ai said quietly. "I don't remember the plan, and I bet that was part of the plan." The Viper just looked at her and Ai sighed. "Do you know what it is?" Arisha shook her head. "All right." She focused on the 'now'. "I do not like the thought of you in harm's way, but I also know that you are likely as stubborn as Alley is." She smiled as Arisha pouted, but the human psi bit back a snort.

"I got perfect marks in that class." Arisha said with aplomb and Ai felt better as the Viper's kind regard swept over her. Part of that was Ai's own memories of her Matron, but part was Arisha's kindness. Everyone had always said she was the true heart and soul of the nest, keeping them on the straight and narrow path.

"Right now, Valere is asleep, but that won't last. She is powerful." Ai said with a frown. Both of the others nodded. "Have you met her?" She asked the X-Com psi.

"No. I stay away from the Lady and her people as best I can." The X-Com warrior said quietly. "I hurt her son very badly and I know she cannot forgive such." He paused and then winced. "My name is James Morgan, call sign Syndrome. I skipped the introductions again."

"Syndrome, I am Eyes. We use call signs here for the most part." Ai paused and then frowned again. "I shudder to think what Arisha's would be."

"They called me 'Voice'." Arisha said very quietly and Ai stared at her. "I attended the recruitment and some of the training. I wanted to come, to help Chimera make things better, but everyone said 'no'." She looked at the floor.

"Arisha." The man at her side laid a hand on her arm. "You are not a trigger puller. Not a killer at heart. You are not a coward. No one doubts that after a few moments of talking with you, but no one wants you on a breach team, because no one wants you to kill. It changes a person. That is the only reason we all said 'No'. The only person who doubts you is you." He had a smile in her voice but Arisha would not meet his gaze. Syndrome sighed and turned back to Ai who nodded soberly. "We did not know what we would need, so we have two more who are parking our transport. Feedback is a team medic and Jesse is Arisha's nestmate."

"Valere cannot get past a stumbling block in her mind." Ai focused on the now again. Arisha and Syndrome both nodded. "The Lady tried. The Sectoids tried. Arisha and Alley tried." Arisha looked stricken and Ai nodded. "Valere has strength of will in spades, but she has had several bad shocks recently."

"She thinks she is responsible for Mark's death." Arisha said the dead man's name with only a tiny hitch, but that spoke volumes of the nest's sadness. "Nothing I or Alley tried got past that dang block. She knows we feel differently, but she cannot accept it. I… I fear for her."

"As do I." Ai took a deep breath and then looked Syndrome full in the eye sockets of his mask. "So, my plan. What happened when Jenni Parker's psi powers emerged?"

"I can't talk about that." Syndrome warned. "Jane would flay me and then she would get mean." So very true.

"I talked to her. Code: Ribbon Rainbow." Ai said softly and Arisha gasped as Syndrome backpedaled all the way to one wall, holding hands up as if to ward Ai off who hadn't moved.

"You… Jane… She… No!" Syndrome was gasping for breath and Arisha started towards hum, but he held up hands that were suddenly limned with purple fire. "NO! Arisha! Stay back! That… Damn! I…"

"I speak the words of Jane Kelly, Director of Reclamation, former Colonel in X-Com, commonly called Shogun." Ai said formally. "What happened to Jenni Parker wasn't your fault any more than what happened to Mark was Valere's. Let go of your pain."

"She doesn't understand!" Syndrome managed to grate those words out as if in pain. Arisha started for him again, but he raised a hand and a purple disk of energy flared into being between her and Syndrome, blocking her path. She hissed in aggravation, her own power flaring as she sought a way around it.

"Yes, she does." Ai replied in a calm voice and Syndrome stared at her, his power flaring as Arisha tried to get past it unsuccessfully. "Jenni told her. Bragged actually according to Jane." At that, Syndromes energy stopped writhing in mid flare!

"What?" Syndrome's shield or whatever it was vanished. He reached up and pulled off his mask, his eyes shining both with purple psionic fire and tears. "She… She didn't!" Arisha stared from him to Ai, confused, but neither looked at her. They stared at each other.

"She did." Ai said with a small, sad smile. "Until today, I had no idea what Asatru was. Who Freya was. Director Kelly had to explain and it was very embarrassing when she told me what Jenni believed. What Jenni practiced. What Jenni did. Jenni's death wasn't your fault."

"I wasn't there! If I had been…" Syndrome started but cut himself off as Ai made a slashing motion.

"Again, I speak for Jane Kelly." Ai's tone turned flat. "Jenni asked the Commander to deny you a place on the team." At that, Syndrome went utterly still. "She picked you as her replacement."

"What? No!" Syndrome said weakly. "I nowhere close to her power. Her skill. Her empathy! Her leadership! I am not."

"She hoped to have time to train you properly, but Syndrome, you know the threat." Ai continued to speak what Jane had told her. "Jane said: 'Syndrome, you of all people know what we faced in there. You saw it in Firefly's eyes and mind when she came back and got drunk for the very first time in her life.'" Syndrome looked away and Ai continued. "'None of us expected to return, Syndrome. You know that. That any did was a testament to our gear, skill and sheer hate.'" It was very odd, speaking for Jane, but her indomitable will came through Ai's words.

"Jane went nuts in there after Jenni died. The others say that tipped the scales. After Jenni went down, Jane tore everything in her way apart. Even an Avatar." Syndrome said weakly. "I… I wasn't there… I couldn't help her. Either of them!"

"You are no god any more than I am, James Morgan." Ai said softly. This was for herself. "We make mistakes. We have regrets. We go on. I know what Jenni did to you. Technically, what she did could have been called 'rape'." At that, Arisha jerked back, her face ashen.

"It wasn't!" Syndrome said sternly. "She was so worried about me and I… I was a mess. I had no idea what psionics were until I got out of the null chamber. I fell and I was glowing and… And then she was there." His tone was soft now, sad. "She held me, soothed me, helped me the only way she could! And then I failed her!"

"It wasn't your fault." Ai said sadly as the psi cried. A gasp had her spinning to see two more people in the door, a woman in X-Com armor and a man who made a beeline for Arisha and held the Viper as Arisha tried to make sense of this change. "Feedback, I speak for Jane Kelly, Director of Reclamation: Enough is enough. Help him."

"I…" The woman in armor swallowed hard and then looked to where Syndrome was sliding down the wall now. "He blames himself."

"Yes." Ai said firmly.

"I heard what you said. He slept with Jenni." Feedback said softly. "No one would ever explain. That was how she helped the psionic recruits?" She asked and Ai nodded again. "She did it her way."

"Jenni wasn't a Christian or any other faith that requires monogamy, Feedback. Jane took some convincing from what she told me, but in the end? They both became stronger for it." Ai shook her head. "She bothered Jane occasionally, but the releases helped keep her powers centered. Jane didn't mind as long as Jenni didn't demand that they share their bed with others."

"That…" Feedback heaved a huge sigh and then nodded. She chuckled sadly. "I can just see Jenni doing that and laughing her butt off. She was nuts but in a fun way, not a bad way."

"I am not sleeping with Valere!" Syndrome snapped, rising to his feet. Anger poured off him in waves even as Arisha gasped and her partner tensed to fight or flee.

"I am not asking that of you." Ai said when Feedback didn't move. "The woman who loves you would take offense." Feedback hissed, but Ai was unmoved. "Jane said you would balk and she is sick of it."

"What?" Syndrome demanded of Ai who did not look at him. Instead, she eyed Feedback who slowly shook her head. Arisha stared from Ai, to Syndrome to Feedback and then the Viper smiled!

"She is right, Gertrude." Arisha said quietly, patting her partner's hands and rising to her full height. "Enough is enough. Tell him." Feedback looked away, but Arisha slid to her and took the woman's head in her own hands. From how Feedback jerked, she was trying to get loose, but didn't want to hurt Arisha. Arisha turned Feedback's head until it was pointed at Syndrome who gasped. "James." Arisha said softly as Syndrome stared at her. "I have no secrets from you. Scan me. Not her. Me."

"I… Gertrude?" Syndrome suddenly sounded very small. "Oh my god! How long…? How long have I been ignoring you?"

"It is not your fault." Feedback tried to turn her head away from Syndrome but Arisha wasn't budging. "You wanted Jenni. Not me."

"I don't know what I wanted." Syndrome sounded punch drunk now. "I was sixteen and full of hate when I joined and I was such a mess when I came out of the null chamber. I had never… Jenni was… She was so kind, so gentle with me. I... I can't. I will hurt you! I won't do that!" He started for the door, but paused as Ai snarled at him. "What?" Everything stopped as Ai drew her sidearm, chambered a round and aimed it at Syndrome's head. Then she lowered her aim point deliberately, further and further down until it was aimed between his legs. "Ah…"

"Jane told me to shoot you if you tried to leave." Ai snapped and smirked as purple power lashed out at her from Syndrome, but rebounded! "And yes, I am wearing a Mind Shield. I won't kill you. But I will blow your balls off like she told me to if you hurt Gertrude again." The med tech Chimera had could heal such easily, but it would be a potent lesson.

For just a moment, everything was rock still. Everyone might have been a statue. Then Syndrome chuckled, just a little.

"Even when Jane is not present, she still scares me more than anything else in existence. I am doomed." Syndrome said with a soft laugh as he turned to look at Feedback whose face was ashen. "I am a mess, Feedback." He paused as Ai coughed. "No, right. Your name is Gertrude. 'I am a mess, Gertrude'." The male psi corrected himself grimly as he looked at Arisha who released the woman from her gasp and slid back to Jesse who was watching all this in awe or terror. Hard to say which was more appropriate. Ai had not lowered her weapon. Syndrome looked at Ai. "Do I have to kiss her?"

"No." Ai replied, still cold. "But you do owe her an apology for being blind as a bat." Ai paused and then smirked. "That is from the both of us."

"Right." Syndrome sighed deeply and nodded to Feedback who stood as if hit by a freeze ray. "Gertrude, I am a mess. I don't think you can help me."

"You didn't think you could shut the murmuring voices out, either." Arisha piped up from where she stood by her partner and Syndrome stared at her before looking thoughtful. "You never know until you try."

"So many determined females. I am so screwed." Syndrome muttered but then he faced Feedback and nodded. "I apologize, Gertrude. I never looked. Looking through my memories, you have tried to help from afar many times. You tried to get me to see you, but I refused out of fear of losing what I had before. You are not Jenni,. You cannot take her place, which is a good thing." He smiled but it held a tinge or worry. "Jenni was unique in my experience."

"Thank god!" Feedback said firmly. "Or Odin if you will."

"Yeah." Syndrome gave himself a shake. "I don't know what to do or how to do it, Gertrude. I haven't done it since Jenni died."

"That is none of my business." Ai said softly as she safety-ed her weapon and holstered it. "Jane said that what you do now is your business, but she will be talking to you and Gertrude in the near future, so you better mind your step, Syndrome. She was not happy with you."

"I never would have guessed." Syndrome said with a pointed look at the pistol on Ai's hip.

"Right now, though, Valere needs help." Ai said with a firm nod. "None of us follow the beliefs that Jenni Parker did. Sleeping with the girl is not the right choice. None of us are Jenni Parker, so we cannot do what she did. And just like Jenni did, Valere has a very strong block in her mind. Valere's block tells her she is responsible for Mark's death just like Jenni's told her she was nothing without her children." Feedback gasped but Syndrome nodded. "Valere is coming into her powers and if she hits such a strong block like that with such power as we fear she has…" She trailed off and Feedback winced.

"Boom." The medic said weakly and Ai nodded. "So, what can we do?" The medic clearly wasn't happy with Ai but she was professional. "I read some reports on what Jenni went through. They showed her the-" Feedback paused and then gasped. "No! She is a kid! You cannot do that to a young girl!"

"Valere grew up fast. She fought Advent. Setting traps and scavenging in ruins." Ai said softly. "I talked with the Lady quite a bit while you traveled here. On one of her scavenging jaunts, Valere was mortally wounded and the Lady saved her, but in doing so, changed the girl's DNA to something new. Something 'I' know about and cannot talk about." Syndrome and Arisha both shook their heads. "I think that is why my enemies have targeted her, but that is for later. For now? If she emerges as a psi with such a block in her mind, it will hurt or kill her. We have to show her the truth of what happened, just like Jenni needed it. You were there, weren't you?" She asked Feedback who paled so much Ai feared she would faint. "When Mark died."

"We both were." Syndrome was thinking hard and then he sighed. "Arisha and I together may be able to do it, but there are no guarantees. It could have gone very badly wrong with Jenni. It nearly did."

"If we do nothing, she dies. Maybe causing a lot of collateral damage." Ai said firmly. "The least we can do is try."

"Yeah." Syndrome looked at Ai and then strode to where Feedback stood, still shocked by all this. Then he bent down and kissed her cheek. "We will talk, Gertrude. Really talk, after this is done."

Ai had to smile at the expressions that crossed Feedback's face at that moment, but her discipline held and she did not laugh. It really wasn't a laughing matter. If they couldn't save Valere, they might have to kill her to prevent a massive psionic explosion and Ai really didn't want to do that. If it came to it though? Ai would not delegate it. She had sworn such to the Lady and Jane Kelly. Both understood. Ai was a killer after all. Even when she didn't want to be one.