Kanina and Vicki, now working for the government, are tracking down a serial killer in a bunny suit. The serial killer jumps Vicki, but Kanina shoots his ax out of his hand and then uses her hair to block him when he attacks by throwing another melee weapon. Vicki complains that she can’t summon her rock monsters anymore because she was depowered, She is, however, able to trap him in the ground. They remove the killer’s mask to see that he’s a freakishly mutated half-man, half-rabbit; they conclude that he was created as part of Apex Moth’s early experiments and then he escaped in the same explosion that injured Apex. Vicki goes to get Agent Hudson, but the serial killer begins talking about how he liked killing children, and Kanina executes him. Hudson is incensed when he arrives and he threatens to fire Kanina from their unit (called ‘Spec Hops’), making it impossible for her to earn back her freedom.
In the detainment facility at Area 51, Vicki says she’s not sure if she can do this since she still thinks of herself as an artist and not a killer. She also isn’t sure if she even deserves freedom, though Kanina encourages her to aim high and keep fighting to recover her liberty. Kanina is separated from Vicki and taken to a holding cell where Burke, a Ningen officer, is being held after he was arrested in Chicago. Hudson explains that Burke is trading some information in exchange for a reduced sentence but has insisted that he’ll only talk to Kanina.
After Hudson leaves, Kanina reminisces about how she used to ride on Burke’s shoulders as a kid. Burke says that Apex Moth was in Chicago researching another cryptid, which was when he dispatched some of Ningen’s remnants along with Bandit Okami, one of his lieutenants (or ‘Huntsman’, as Apex calls his officers). Okami and the Ningen soldiers were tasked with stealing gear fro Kagemitsu Corp and then going to the New Jersey Pine Barrens to hunt a cryptid, with Okami specially chosen for the mission because he’s a former cartel smuggler who showed proficiency in hunting chupacabras. However, Carly and Black Hops caught them first.
While in jail, Okami let slip that Apex doesn’t care about the monsters themselves but just wants their DNA. Apex then had his tunnel expert Keli Hopkins break Okami out, after which Burke decided to testify on the grounds that his loyalty is to Kanina and Ningen, not Apex’s insanity. Burke finishes by telling Kanina that Ningen has basically collapsed but Cryptiq is only getting stronger. Kanina thanks him and Burke is surprised, saying she never used to do that and wondering if she found a positive influence in jail. Kanina plays this off and says they’ll never meet again, then bids him goodbye.
The next day, Hudson briefs Vicki and Kanina. He says that they need Kanina since she has the hand of Saint Columba and can has the chimeraton power of talking to cryptids. They also give her a new partner: a jackalope called Jackknife. Kanina thought she’d hunted down and killed all the jackalopes, but Gracey arrives and says that Jackknife is the alpha, the strongest and smartest of them all, and could even become a better warrior than USA GI. Sylvia also arrives and Hudson says she’ll function as Vicki’s parole officer. Vicki is dismissive of her, since they never got along, but Hudson says the government is insisting Sylvia do this as a condition of letting her continue to use the power armor (which is technically government property), so the two are stuck together.
Hudson further explains that Black Hops is not involved in this mission because they might have moral objections, and Carly is out too for the same reason. Gracey then tells Sylvia that he’s added an ability to her armor which will let her drain the chimeraton powers from Vicki and Kanina, fatiguing them in the process. Sylvia asks if she’s in charge and is told that she’s not; Father Crane then emerges from the shadows and identifies himself as the leader of the Vatican’s special forces group known as the Soulfinders. He says that his organization is sending a chaperone to ascertain whether Kanina can be trusted with the hand of Saint Columba, which is technically Vatican property and a holy relic. He introduces them to Father Retter as the other priest enters the briefing area.
Hudson says they’ll leave for Jersey as Crane gives Retter a tracking device and says another soul finder will be sending along some heavy ammunition and can use the device to find Retter when needed. The group leaves.
Somewhere below New Jersey, Okami rambles on about anime as Hopkins and her goblin minions lead him through old bootlegger tunnels. Apex and Mimic follow them, with Apex darkly calling Hopkins and Okami incompetent for needing both him (Apex) and Mimic to chaperone them. Okami blames the cryptid, saying it flies and so it’s not their fault they can’t catch it even though they did already find its hideout; when Apex asks why on earth they went underground to catch a flying monster, Hopkins says they’ll sneak up on the creature and they’ll also set a trap for pursuers. Apex says that his surveillance shows that pursuers are indeed en route, and he orders them to succeed in this mission. He notes that he sacrificed Kanina and her relic, and says he’ll certainly sacrifice Hopkins and Okami if need be.
Retter complains that the rest of the team is wearing immodest outfits. Kanina blames Vicki for designing them, and Vicki says Millius told her to keep doing her art as therapy. She then asks Ritter about a red symbol on his outfit. He says it’s the Chi Rho
symbol and it gives him holy strength and protection. Kanina is dismissive of the idea that demons exist, possess people, and can be exorcised; she tells Retter he’s never seen a demon. Retter thinks back to his own experiences and tells her that she’d be surprised. Retter gives the history of the symbol and mentions that Vicki’s priest Father Blatty was a soul finder too, surprising Vicki. Above them, Sylvia reports that she found the monster — a giant gargoyle-esque creature with long horns — and it found her too.
Kanina fires a warning shot to draw the monster away, but it attacks Sylvia and piledrives her into the ground. Retter tries to talk the monster down while Vicki attacks it with rocks and Kanina calls it a literal devil. Jackknife attacks the monster too until Retter has Kanina calm Jackknife down. The monster flees as Sylvia uses her visor to analyze the monster; she determines that it’s chimera ton-enhanced and can be weakened with her syphon ability.
The monster flees as Sylvia weakens it and Spec Hops pursues, with Retter having Sylvia stay above it, Jackknife track it, Vicki throw rocks at it, and Kanina use tracer bullets in an assault rifle to corral it. This works, with Sylvia and Kanina guiding the monster down to where Vicki can smack it with a rock, and the creature crashes to a clearing. Vicki notes that Sylvia’s power syphon is weakening her too, but Sylvia says she needs to keep that power active to weaken the monster.
Retter says that Crane is sending backup but it won’t be there for a while, and he asks Kanina to befriend the monster first. Kanina picks up that the monster thinks of the area as his home. Vicki then detects the Cryptiq enemies below them, but it’s too late; the ground collapses and they all fall into a pit.
Sylvia manages to save Retter from being injured in the fall, but Retter tells him their backup won’t arrive in time to deal with this problem. Okami and Hopkins mock the group as the goblins laugh. Okami battles Sylvia while the others battle goblins, but Retter orders them to stop other goblins from dragging the monster off. Jackknife knocks those goblins away while Vicki moves a rock that had fallen on the monster and pinned it down.
Vicki tells Sylvia to shut off her siphon power so that she, Vicki, can use her own powers to find an escape tunnel. Sylvia refuses since she thinks Vicki will just escape like she’s done multiple times before. Retter observes the holy medallion Sylvia wears on her neck and says that everyone deserves the opportunity for grace. Sylvia considers and then agrees to shut off her power. Vicki brings down some rocks to block off the Cryptiq forces, but Hopkins immediately has her goblins start to dig through and an exhausted Vicki says they don’t have long. Retter announces he’s out of bullets and Kanina says she only has one shot left. Kanina proposes just killing the monster so Apex doesn’t get it, but Retter refuses to condone that action.
Sylvia says the monster is healing from the injury it took when it fell and its tail was trapped under a rock, and Retter has Kanina communicate with it again. She does so and is shocked to find the creature has a human-like mind; animal minds are usually very simple for her to understand, but this creature’s mind is as complex as any person she’s met. She says she can’t use her powers on a creature that has a human-level intellect, but Retter encourages her to have faith in her self. He gives her a rosary and presses his hand atop hers as they both touch the creature.
They have a vision of some kind of monster approaching a woman, who subsequently gave birth to the monster and left it in the woods. Kanina apologizes to the monster and tells it that, if it lets them help it, it will never be lonely again. Vicki then identifies a tunnel they can use to escape and do so, winding up in an abandoned town square. The monster is still too badly injured to fly and Sylvia’s suit has sustained enough damage that she can’t fly either, so the group is stuck on the ground for the moment. Then Apex Moth reveals himself and sends Mimic at them.
Mimic shifts into the monster and knocks it back. Kanina shoots it with her last bullet but it has no effect, so she grabs melee weapons with her prehensile hair and battles it. Then Hopkins, Okami, and the goblins burst out of the ground behind them. Apex takes advantage of Retter’s distraction to seize him and taunt him, but at that moment his backup arrives: Patriot-R who parachutes down and shoots Apex Moth, and Carly drops down to zap the enemies with her electric powers.
The Cryptiq forces flee, though Vicki manages to punch Apex Moth’s helmet off and see what he looks like before he gets away. Then Carly lands and mentions that Father Blatty asked her to reinforce Retter; Hudson wasn’t happy about her picking up Patriot-R but eventually assented. Vicki hides from Carly but Sylvia sees her; when Vicki begs Sylvia not to let Carly see her, Sylvia agrees and offers to sneak Vicki into the evacuation helicopter. Carly is then distracted by Kanina and the monster as Sylvia does so.
Later, the monster — now calling himself Pitchfork — is being housed in Area 51. Hudson asks Retter what he thought, and he reports that Vicki really does want to atone but may not be able to forgive herself. Support from her friends, however, could help her. As for Kanina, he thinks she’s still a soldier but one who wants a cause worth fighting for. He’s fine with her keeping the hand.
Vicki and Sylvia talk, and then Sylvia approaches Millius to ask if she can intervene on Vicki’s behalf. Meanwhile, Kanina bonds with Jackknife. Hudson argues with Crane about his reinforcements going behind Hudson’s back, but Crane is dismissive, saying that at least they foiled Cryptiq.
In Cryptiq’s headquarters, Apex Moth has Mimic and the Tatzelwurm backing him up as he threatens to kill his lieutenants. Okami reveals they did manage to collect some of the monster’s tail, which was severed by the rock which fell on it. Apex is satisfied and spares their lives. He then puts the tail on a shelf next to the thunderbird feather and says his plan is on schedule. A new minion of his, Stiletto Snake, picks up the Tatzelwurm and pets it.
In an epilogue, Ruby spies on a Ningen cell as they open up a booby-trapped crate and are blown up by a new Black Hops agent, a tanuki-like creature called Bazooki. Penelope reports that the mission was successful and boasts that they did it without help, only for the superhero Versema to drop in behind her and remind her that they’re in her hometown.
This comic contains examples of the following tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Pitchfork loses his tail in the Cryptiq ambush.
- Boxed Crook: Vicki and Kanina are both in this situation.
- The Cavalry: Carly and Patriot-R show up at the last minute to save Spec Hops.
- Redemption Quest: Vicki and Kanina are encouraged to work for Spec Hops as a means of finding redemption.
- Retired Badass: It’s revealed that Blatty used to be a soulfinder but is now retired.
