BLIND FAITH

Summary: A minuscule injury with the potential to disrupt the entire dynamic.

Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction writer. All hail the rightful owners.

Content Disclaimer: This story is not written from or for a child's perspective. Though both dark and light moments are present, if you don't wish to see cannon characters distressed, this is probably not for you.

"It'll be a bit of a recovery." Her doctor said.

Her heart surged. "But you can fix it?"

"Your eyesight won't be perfect again." He cautioned quietly. "But based on what I see right now, with surgery you won't be completely cured… but you won't be completely blind."

"So… something intermediate?" Carmen asked. That doesn't do.

"Possible." The surgeon observed. "Or you could get a more extreme result. We really can't tell until we get you under the knife. Or we could…"

"I'll do it." Carmen said quietly.

"Hi Helen…" Ivy said softly. Seeing Carmen jump she added quickly. "Easy. I'm alone."

The woman angled her head away but didn't move. "I sent you elsewhere, detective."

"We got your theme," began the uneasy reply. "Blindness…"

"I'll have you know detective, that my theme was fate and coincidence."

"Ok whatever…"

"I did not want you to see me." The thief muttered, wondering if this darkness was making her more frank.

Ivy swallowed and Carmen could hear it.

"But I suppose I should have expected you to figure it out."

"Does it hurt much?" The detective whispered.

"Only a little." The mastermind mused, folding her arms. "I threw away the painkillers, but in retrospect that was probably just pride. Took the antibiotics though, for whatever it's worth."

"Can I see them?" The agent inquired nervously.

Carmen hooked her hands through her belt. "Do as you like." She said briskly.

Unsteadily, Ivy reached out a hand and touched Carmen's chin, turning the crimson thief to face and tipping up the hat.

Wondering if one responded more strongly to the invasion of personal space when bereft of vision, Carmen remarked. "Perhaps you might give me a straight answer regarding their appearance, detective. The surgeon hedged."

"I'm sorry Carmen." Ivy said quietly.

"That bad are they?" The felon sardonically dismissed her.

"I didn't intend…"

"Of course you didn't. Don't let me catch you blaming yourself for this, detective. I chose the arena for that theft. Safety was my responsibility. I'm just glad it wasn't you or your brother."

Ivy smiled a little. "That's sweet Carmen."

"That's pragmatic, detective. I have no urge to face the wrath of a unified Acme. At least I still have a chance to pull through this."

The thief heard her counterpart sharpen her tone. "A chance?"

"I'm going in for… for surgery on them, a week from tomorrow. The doctor is…" she tried to invest the phrase with more confidence than she harbored, "hopeful that it will restore my sight."

"Just hopeful?"

The eyes were too scratched to flash properly, but the stern shoulders hinted at the effect. "I don't know how to clarify it any further, detective."

"Do you have a plan for if it doesn't work?" Ivy really didn't want to know the answer but felt compelled to ask.

"Yes…" Carmen hissed on the edge of silence.

"And it is…"

"I will… I will walk into the control center of VILE and announce my… condition."

Ivy drew in breath sharply. "Don't do that. That's insane."

Carmen chuckled darkly. "Why?"

"Because they'll kill you." Ivy didn't stop to consider her logic. It made entirely too much sense.

"And how is that insane?" The master thief inquired.

"It's … it's… just come with us." Ivy demanded. "We'll keep you safe."

"No you won't." Carmen answered. "You'll worry a little bit and check up on everything for the first few weeks. Then you'll leave me in a tiny little box," her voice got very quiet. "To rot until I die."

"I wouldn't…"

"You're a teenager, detective. Your attention span is supposed to be even shorter. It's a miracle you pay attention as much as you do."

"Not for you..."

"Do you fancy yourself Anne Sullivan now?"

"Hey…" Ivy said in a discernibly injured tone. "Don't criticize the metaphor. You choose it."

Carmen snorted.

"Helen Keller." Ivy said with determination. "Did not give up."

"Helen Keller… was not a felon." Carmen remarked.

"That shouldn't matter at…"

"Detective!" Carmen snapped.

"I would come to see you." Ivy vowed fiercely. "Every day."

"I understand…" The thief answered.

Ivy was surprised at how cold the other woman's voice sounded. "What do you mean."

"It's in your nature, detective, to be gracious to a defeated enemy. So if you're offering that, you believe that my sight will not be restored. You think I'm blind for life, Ivy."

"No…" Ivy lied.

"I'm not beaten yet, detective." Carmen said sharply. "You save your pity." And the woman turned to stride away.

Ivy tried to follow but her shoes were stuck to the ground.

The next two months were about the longest of Ivy's life.

When Carmen resumed stealing, she had the sense not to inquire about her eyes.

Ivy didn't want to know.

And she especially didn't want to be caught asking.

THE END