Power Girl #2 (2023)

As Amalak's ship traverses outer space, one of Amalak's minions tells his captain that they have found a potential buyer. Amalak is inspecting a mysterious yellow object that appears to be Kryptonian in origin. Due to his hatred of Kryptonians, Amalak considers destroying it on principles but ultimately decides to keep it, for he intends to sell it. Suddenly, Amalak begins to cough up blood and screams in pain. Amalak's minions rush to the ship's cargo hold, only to find Amalak standing there, completely fine. He claims that the blood on the floor isn't his own and tells his subordinates to turn the ship back to Earth. He has an errand to take care of. Meanwhile, Paige has been hired as a reporter for Daily Planet and she splits her time between writing her latest article and helping Mariposa Lujan, a graduate student, get used to working at the Daily Planet. Mariposa tells Paige that Axel Gust, the man Paige suspects to be a CIA agent, has called her again and Mariposa gave Paige's number to Alex in case he called again. Before leaving to do her job, Mariposa also tells Paige that Lois wants to see her at her office. Lois asks Paige about the investigation Superman tasked her with and Paige replies that it's been difficult to get into contact with a coroner because people from rural communities don't trust outsiders. Lois reminds Paige of the importance of getting more information about the Kryptonian virus that has been killing humans because the Blue Earth movement could use it as an excuse to indulge in more anti-alien propaganda. This might seem like a daunting task but Lois tells Paige that Superman wouldn't assign this task to her if he thought she wouldn't be able to handle it. Before Paige returns to work, Lois reminds her about her column. Paige stays late at the bullpen and writes a column about the ethics in machine learning. She uses the column to think about her experience with the symbioship and her lingering fear that her current life is nothing more than a projected illusion, and in reality, she is still adrift in space. As she walks home, she gets another message from Axel, who once again tries to recruit her for his organization. She decides to call him and tells him that whatever job he has planned, she is not interested. Axel, who is busy stealing a mysterious device from an unknown location, agrees to leave her alone for now. Upon returning home, Paige packs her bags and prepares to leave for the Fortress of Solitude at the Bermuda Triangle. This place was recommended by Lois to Paige as a starting point for her investigation. Omen wants to help, but Paige tells her to stay and take care of Streaky. This is a lie. In reality, Paige doesn't want Omen to get involved because she risks getting infected with the virus. When she arrives at the Fortress, Power Girl is greeted by Kelex, who gives her a tour of the facilities. As she visits the animal sanctuary, Power Girl comes across a lion-like creature that, according to Kelex, is the last-known member of his species. He is dying and has remained a bit aggressive during his time in the Fortress. Power Girl can sympathize with the dying animal. The next morning, Power Girl arrives at a small village in which the infection first broke out. She tries to talk to a villager, but gets attacked by Amalak, who has suddenly developed the ability to throw spikes from his body. His voice has changed and he is more aggressive towards Power Girl than before. Suddenly, his voice turns back to normal and he removes a spiky yellow object from his eye. He says that someone is coming after Power Girl and jumps into the sea.