Daredevil, after leaving the church, heads back to his new home, the former hideout of the Punisher. 30 minutes later Daredevil arrives at the hideout. Karen is cleaning her gun with equipment she found on the desk until she hears Daredevil burst through the door. He's struggling to stand, he's exhausted and now that he's no longer got a rush of adrenaline his body is screaming in pain from the injuries Ikari has caused. Karen rushes over and asks.
"Omg Matt, what happened to you?"
Daredevil on his knees and tells her
"I was ambushed by Fisk's forces, which included a man that was a devil just like me."
"But don't worry, I kicked his ass."
He laughed but also groaned at the same time. Karen helps him to a chair and sits him down. He needs to take off the suit in order for Karen can see where he has been hurt so she helps him take it off in a way that causes as little pain as possible. The suit and the cowl are on the floor, the devil now rests and Matt Murdoch returns. Karen sees where Matt has been cut and bruised so she gets a first aid kit left behind by the Punisher. There are a lot of them in a cabinet which she thinks makes sense since he always has a tendency to get himself badly hurt in battle. She helps with the stitching and cleaning his wounds. Matt is looking more down than usually so Karen asks him.
"You wanna tell me what you're thinking?"
"I know that expression all too well, I'm here for you Matt, talk to me."
Matt lowers his guard and lets Karen in. He knows he can trust her, no matter what's happened over the years she's always been someone he can count on. Matt tells her how he's feeling right now.
"I was thinking about that woman who was forced to pretend she needed my help."
"I could hear it in her voice how afraid and guilty she felt."
"But it's not just her, I can sense that the whole city is afraid."
"Anytime the task force is on patrol I can hear people's heart rate increase, they fear that they might be coming after them next."
"The city is losing hope Karen, Fisk is stronger than he's ever been before, he has law in his grasp and he's using it against me."
"I don't know how long I can keep fighting when I'm all alone out there Karen."
Matt is at his lowest right now and Karen can see the guilt on his face. She knows that a part of him regrets saving Fisk from Bullseye's assassination attempt. She listens to his words and thinks of a way to be the moral support he needs right now.
Karen gets closer to Matt and holds onto both his hands firmly. She tells him.
"Matt I understand you're under a lot of pressure and I know you feel responsible because you saved Fisk's life but you're not alone."
"You have me, I'm here for you right now and I know I don't go out at night beating up bad guys like the heroic Daredevil but I do my part in this fight against Fisk."
Matt chuckles and responds by saying.
"I know you do a lot Karen, I'm sorry if I implied otherwise. It just feels like Me, you and the rest of our group isn't enough and I won't ask you all to risk your lives in the same way I do."
Karen groans realizing Matt still isn't getting it so she makes a clear statement.
"Thats just it Matt you don't have to ask, myself, Josie, Cherry and the rest of us we chose to stand by you."
"We know the risks and we are willing to do what it takes to stop Fisk and take our city back."
"Wasn't the point of us doing this to show the people of New York if we stand together we can stop men like Fisk, you have to stop letting your fears for our safety get in the way of us saving the city."
Matt can't deny that Karen is right. He is afraid of people getting hurt because of him and worst of all losing the person he loves most just like he lost Foggy. His death still haunts him the guilt and pain which has made him extremely cautious when it comes to Karen. There's no denying that he loves her and he doesn't know what he'd do if anything happened to her. He responds to her by saying.
"You're right Karen, I'm just afraid of people dying because of my war with Fisk, I'm afraid of losing you like we lost Foggy."
Karen looks away from Matt with a sad expression feeling the pain of Foggy's death once again. Matt continues.
"I know that you're capable of defending yourself but I just couldn't bear to lose you too."
"We still need more help, what we have isn't enough to take back the city."
"The people need a spark, something to hope for and to motivate them to stand up against Fisk."
Karen agrees that they need more support because unfortunately they're numbers are too small to leave a real impact. She comes up with some suggestions.
"Our current numbers are small, you're not wrong about that, but luckily for us New York is full of heroes."
"Jessica, Luke, Danny, and probably the greatest of them all, Spider-Man, surely they would help us, it's their city too".
Matt smiles thinking about the time he met those extraordinary people Jessica, Luke and Danny. He thinks about how they saved the city together from the Hand. They were people who understood what it's like to have powers and live the life of a hero. They may not have always gotten along but they're good people and right now New York could use more good people who stand for what's right.
"Well you know I prefer to work alone but I wouldn't refuse their help."
"Unfortunately I don't know where Jessica, Luke and Danny are."
"For all we know they've left the city, I wouldn't blame them if they did."
"As for Spider-Man, I'm pretty sure he deals with Avengers level threats every week."
Karen then gives a suggestion that Matt isn't a fan of.
"Okay well how about we look for Frank and get his help?"
Matt quickly responds.
"Karen no, he's not interested in saving the city and he's too unpredictable."
"Besides we both know that he and I don't work well together."
"We'd be arguing like we always do and he'll say "let me tell you something red" and we'd probably try to beat each other to hell."
"Don't forget he abandoned us for his own personal vendetta, so screw him we don't need his help!"
Karen can't stop smiling, holding back her laughter and then just lets out. When she is slightly more composed she tells Matt.
"I'm sorry but, "let me tell you something red" is killing me, he really does sound like that haha."
She is mimicking Matt's impression of the punisher and continues to laugh. Matt joins in on the laughter and Karen lays her head on his chest as she is trying to control her laughter. Matt realizes that this is the first time he's laughed in a while and it's a good feeling. He's happy to be in this moment with Karen as he feels her warmth against his body, it soothes and relaxes him. Matt looks at Karen and tells her.
"Thank you for being here Karen, there isn't anywhere else I'd want to be."
Karen starts to blush and she gets closer to him. They're so close that they're hearts race, Karen is feeling the same way she felt when they first started dating all those years ago. Matt has never been able to resist a beautiful woman so he leans in the hopes he'd feel Karen's soft lips against his own. Karen is about to kiss him but then she remembers how they're relationship fell apart so she hesitates and pulls back. She walks over to the middle of the room looking away from Matt. The silence is deafening and she's trying to think of a way to end this awkward situation. Then it hits her, she has an idea of how they can generate more support. She excitingly picks up Matt's Daredevil suit and puts it on a table. Karen then tells Matt.
"I figured it out Matt, I know how we can inspire people to stand up against Fisk."
"We turn Daredevil into a symbol of hope and rebellion."
Matt is intrigued by her idea and sits up showing that he is paying full attention. Karen continues.
"You said it yourself that the people need a spark, that can be you Matt."
"You could give the people courage they need to stand up against Fisk by becoming more than the devil of hell's kitchen."
"We'll need a slogan, something memorable that will stick in your head."
Matt responds by telling Karen.
"I can hear the passion in your voice and this is a good plan."
"Daredevil has never been someone who stands in the light but if that's what it takes to stop this threat then that's who I need to become."
"But first we need to fix the suit, the man I fought with, Ikari, did some damage and I think it might be time for a change."
Karen looks at Matt confused and asks him.
"A change?"
"Are you planning on ditching the whole devil persona?"
Matt chuckles and responds with.
"Of course not Karen, New York still needs its devil but I think in these trying times the red stands out too much."
"So I think I should go back to black, the Task Force will have a harder time tracking me down".
Karen then proceeds to spray paint the suit, the cowl and the billy clubs Black upon Matt's request. Unfortunately after his apartment exploded it's heavily guarded by the AVTF so he hasn't been able to go back and get his equipment so he can't get the black suit he had in his secret storage on the roof of his apartment. Some time passes and Karen is finished painting the suit, fixing it back into a good condition. Matt is still resting trying to recover from the attack but it'll take sometime. He hates sitting around and waiting, he's eager to get back into the fight. Matt asks Karen how things are going with the suit. She tells him.
"I've finished painting it, but I'm not sure if you're going to inspire hope looking like this Matt."
Matt comes up with an idea and tells Karen.
"I have a solution to that, you said I needed to be a symbol right?"
"Then that's exactly what the suit needs and this will be a symbol that can give people hope."
Karen tells Matt that she likes the idea and asks him.
"So what exactly do you think our symbol of hope should be?"
Matt tells her.
"Something simple, something that tells the people of New York who I am."