Trish was walking back to the makeshift clinic when her phone rang, the familiar buzz breaking through the thoughts swirling in her mind. She fished it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. Amanda. A small smile tugged at her lips. It was good to hear from her after she’d been missing for a while. Without hesitation, she answered the call.

"Amanda! Where have you been?" Trish exclaimed, purposefully lining her voice with a mix of relief and concern. "Damian and I have been looking all over for you."

There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by a shaky breath. "Trish...," Amanda began, her voice tinged with anxiety, "I—I’m sorry I disappeared. I was trying to check on a friend who lives in The Warren. I hadn’t heard from her in a day, and I was worried..."

Trish wondered how Amanda made it to that area since the military had the area blocked off. The Warren was a dangerous area, especially after the Blast. "What happened?" she asked gently, sensing that Amanda needed to talk it out.

Amanda’s voice trembled as she recounted the events. "When I got to her apartment, the door was open, and everything was trashed. I found her… dead, Trish. It was horrible. I wanted to leave, to get out of there, but before I could, these men showed up. They must have been the ones who... who killed her."

Trish could picture the scene too well—the hopelessness of finding her friend gone, it was what she had felt when she had stood over Amy’s body. "Oh, Amanda... I’m so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I’m fine now. Those guys managed to see me," Amanda continued, her voice growing more frantic as she relived the memory. "They saw me, and they started chasing me. I ran as fast as I could, but one of them shot me, and I—" Her voice caught, and she took a moment to steady herself. "I fell, and they caught up to me. They were going to... they were going to do horrible things, Trish. They beat me, and I thought I was going to die right there, but then... something happened."

Trish had already put the pieces together as she listened to Amanda’s story. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice calm.

"I—I don’t know how to explain it," Amanda said, her words coming out in a rush. "I was lying there, barely conscious, and then all of a sudden, they just... they just dropped dead. I didn’t see what happened, but there was this... this monster. It was huge and terrifying, and I thought it was going to kill me too. But instead, I passed out after feeling this strange energy, and the next thing I knew, when I woke up I was healed. Completely healed. I shouldn’t have been able to move, let alone get up and run, but I did."

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Trish pieced together what Amanda was describing. A monster, sudden healing—these were alluding to the Dark Stalker and Amanda’s conduit abilities awakening. This was good but since Amanda's abilities were light-based she must have caused a commotion. "Amanda, listen to me," Trish said, her voice firm but reassuring. "I think I have a good idea of what’s going on, but I need you to stay calm, okay?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Trish could almost hear Amanda’s mind working, trying to make sense of what she had experienced. "Okay," Amanda finally said, though she still sounded shaken. "Okay, Trish. What should I do?"

"First, I need to know if you can make it back to the Neon District on your own," Trish replied. "It’s safer here, and I don’t want you out in the open any longer than necessary."

"I... I think I can make it," Amanda said, her voice gaining a bit more strength. "I’m not too far from the Neon District. I just need to be careful."

"Good," Trish said, relieved that Amanda seemed to be regaining her composure. "Head straight to the clinic and don’t stop for anything. I’ll be there waiting for you."

Amanda hesitated. "Trish, what about that monster? What if it’s still out there?"

Since she had sent it to protect Amanda Trish wasn’t too concerned about the creature. "Don’t worry about the monster," she said, sounding confident. "Just focus on getting to safety. I’ll handle everything else."

There was another pause, and then Amanda sighed. "Okay, Trish. I’ll trust you."

"Thank you, Amanda," Trish said, she didn’t like keeping secrets from her friend, but the truth was too complicated, too dangerous to reveal. "Just be careful, and I’ll see you soon."

They exchanged a few more words, and then the call ended. Trish lowered her phone, her mind already racing ahead to what she needed to do next. Amanda was safe for the moment, and her abilities were awakened. Amanda couldn’t face this alone so she needed her to get here so she could start preparing.

As Trish slipped her phone back into her pocket, her mind raced through the possibilities of what she had to do next. Amanda’s conduit abilities had awakened, which meant her friend would be a target soon. The military and other factions like the First Sons would eventually come sniffing around as soon as word got out. She would need to protect Amanda, not only from them but from the new world she was about to be thrust into. There was no turning back now.

Her thoughts drifted to the Dark Stalker, the creature Damian had created. It had done its job, protecting Amanda from those thugs, but she knew the creature couldn’t stay out in the open for long. She needed to get it under control, and now that Amanda’s abilities had truly awakened, she would have to guide her through the confusing and dangerous path of being a conduit.

Trish quickened her pace, weaving through the city’s broken streets with a sense of urgency. She’d head back to the clinic, check in on Cole, and ensure everything was set for when Amanda arrived. But there was more to do than just patching people up now. She would need to pull Damian into this situation.

“My looks like things really are starting to get interesting now. I might have to speed up Cole’s recovery. However, I don’t want him to ask too many questions,” said Trish as she continued to walk.