The sky was spinning out of control and the ground was rushing toward her. The buildings were no longer dark square shapes lurking below her feet and were now becoming more distinct as she plummeted from the sky. Her powers had gone out on her as she'd been floating above the city, high in the clouds, at the edge of the atmosphere.

Kal was right, she thought. Annoyed that she was going to splatter somewhere in the city below and prove him right. She hated doing that.

"I told you something like this would happen." He didn't sound mad.

Superman scooped her into his arms, carrying them toward the ground.

"People were dying Kal." Power Girl had never realized how cold it was this high away from the ground. Goosebumps covered her body, her uniform suddenly seeming much skimpier.

"You nearly killed that assassin." Superman told her, landing on a building top across the street from the burning restaurant.

"You saved her and she escaped." Power Girl said, walking to the edge of the building and looking at the firefighters preventing the flames from spreading to the neighboring buildings. "She's going to try to kill the Ambassador again."

"Undoubtedly. I have an assignment here in Century City. I can call Lois and stay for a few days. That way if the—"

"Hold up. This is my city. I'll protect it and I'll find her." Power Girl felt her temper begin to flare. Her body ached. Being powerless was not a pleasant sensation. She felt the beginning of a headache.

"Since when is this your city? Last time we talked you were in San Francisco and loving it." Superman said.

"We moved our corporate offices here." Power Girl said, watching the mere mortals below handle the crisis without any need for assistance. "I haven't even been in town for a week yet. I'm still living out of the hotel… of course, I should have moved into my new place this week. I probably missed that due to the quarantine."

"You didn't mention a move last time we saw each other. It was only a couple months ago during Mongul's assault on Earth*. You're only a hundred miles north of Metropolis now."

*Better known as Cold Armageddon.

"It's not like we had a real chance to talk Kal. We were dealing with yet another crisis. Like we always do. And I've been busy. Just like you have been. Just like we all do. The world is darker and more dangerous and there's always some crisis rearing it's ugly head." Kara shrugged.

"You always have an excuse. You're always too busy." Kal replied. "The distance between us grows greater and greater these days. And it has nothing to do with being busy. You and I haven't had a real conversation since after I came back from the dead. And even that…"

"Supergirl was there." Power Girl sighed, hesitating before continuing. "It's just been weird. Since the Crisis. And a lot weirder since Supergirl showed up. I mean, it's been hard. We were cousins. Then we weren't. And then some other young blonde girl shows up from nowhere. Everyone just assumes she's your cousin, even though she isn't either. But, she gets to call herself Supergirl." Kara stopped, realizing that she was shaking ever so slightly. She also feared she might cry—something she hated, something she had not done since Doomsday had killed Kal, and only once before that right after the Crisis when she'd first discovered that she was not his cousin.

"Why is that still there between us?" Superman said, "I don't care if we're flesh and blood cousins or not. You're my cousin as far as I'm concerned. This has nothing to do with Supergirl. Let's leave Mae out of this."

"How can I? She's Supergirl. I'm not. I'm Power Girl. You never even asked me to be Supergirl." Kara said, feeling the tears burning behind her eyes and a lump forming in the back of her throat.

"You never asked to be Supergirl." Superman replied.

"Part of that was because you never asked me. I had to have something." She shook her head, "Power Girl… it's actually kind of lame. That stupid late night talk show guy Les Creighton is always making fun of my name."

"Les Creighton makes fun of everyone. He spends his life tearing others down." Superman said, "You shouldn't take him seriously. He belittles all women heroes. It seems like you wouldn't let that male chauvinist pig who thinks women should be in a kitchen cooking get to you. You dealt with the old timers in the Justice Society who made Miss America their secretary and tried to make Hippolyta take the job when Miss America left the team."

"Wildcat was the worst." Karen replied, "But he's come a long way."

"From your first moments here, you were never Supergirl. You were always completely your own person. There is no way I could have called you Supergirl. You weren't a side-kick. You weren't a protégé. You were a strong independent person, complete with your own identity. You were Power Girl. If we'd tried to call you Supergirl, you would have ended up renaming yourself later anyway."

"Just like Nightwing, Arsenal, Troia, and Tempest." Power Girl said quietly.

"Karen… I love you like you're family. I always have and always will. Whether you're from Krypton or Atlantis. Whether you're my biological cousin or not. My entire family here on Earth is adopted. Family isn't just what you're born with; it's what you make. Surely you've figured that out after being here nine years."

Karen shook her head, pushing back the tears. She would not cry. Especially in front of him. "You're ever the boy-scout and always able to say the right thing."

"Wait here." Superman said, "I'll be right back." He zipped off into the afternoon.

Power Girl watched the continued clean-up down on the street. There was nothing she could do down there at this point, even if she'd been at full power.

Things with her and Kal were just weird. And she did not know if they ever wouldn't be. Part of her felt like such a fraud when she was around him. Those first few years here on Earth had been awesome, when they were cousins. Before she'd found out it was all a lie. Sometimes she wished didn't know the truth.

She blamed the Anti-Monitor.

Her memories of the Crisis were hazy. The same was true of everyone who had fought that battle. No one remembered it clearly, and therefore no one really talked about it. She wondered if Kal thought about the Crisis as often as she did. It was during a battle with the Anti-Monitor that she had been injured. Badly. The Anti-Monitor had struck her down with a bolt of anti-matter and had been preparing to kill her when the new Dr. Light had blasted him, knocking him off of her and giving Superman enough of a window to get her out of danger.

Some nights Karen still awoke, the smell of blood and fire thick in her nostrils, sweating as she reeled from nightmares just as vivid and real as if the Crisis had just happened yesterday. It had been hours later, when Superman had taken her to STAR Labs for medical treatment that Jeanette Klyburn had brought them the news—the blood Superman had donated for Kara was going to be useless. Genetically there wasn't a match. They weren't related. Dr. Klyburn couldn't even unequivocally say that Power Girl was Kryptonian.

"Genetically there is no way to say one way or that other that you're even Kryptonian."

The words still stung her. There were similarities between her DNA and Superman's DNA, but they were not first cousins. And his blood was incompatible with hers.

The way he had looked at her in that moment… Karen would never forget the look on his face or the hurt in his eyes.

She had fled S.T.A.R Labs Metropolis at that moment, heading straight to the Fortress of Solitude to view the ruins of her symbio-ship—ruined after it had gone rogue and tried to trap her in a perpetual state of simulated reality using her then-friend later-boyfriend Andrew Vinson as a hostage. While standing there the purple hull had glowed and glittered; suddenly it had transformed from a vessel of alien metal and computer components and morphed into a construct of crystal and shimmering magic. The image she had recognized had stepped from the center of the crystal.

"Arion?" Power Girl had blinked, remembering seeing him during the Crisis when time had gone crazy and several different time periods had overlapped and morphed. He was older now, gray streaking his hair and wrinkles making their home around his eyes.

"Ah… I see you remember me. It's funny, when we met during the Crisis, I had no idea who you were to me. I was younger, long before I had children of my own. Much less a son with children of his own. But, now… well, now I know that you are my granddaughter."

"Your granddaughter?"

"Yes. Come here granddaughter, and I will reveal to you your real past."

Kara looked at the man hesitantly, not moving.

"Come. Do not be afraid. I'm merely a magical projection of Arion. Sent when you were placed in the symbio-crystal for safe keeping. I'm not the real Arion. The real Arion died long, long ago."

Kara stood there for a very long time before crossing the room.

The magical projection of Arion placed his index finger in the center of her forehead.

Suddenly, Kara's head filled with light.

The next thing she knew she found herself standing next to the projection of Arion in a beautiful lush garden.

"We're in the Southern Hemisphere of Krypton." Kara said, remembering visiting her mother's family.

"No. We're in Ancient Atlantis. Not long before the city sank. In the time when the science began to replace magic. The symbio-ship used this as the setting for your simulated mother's ancestral home so that it would not be a complete shock to you once your were given your full memories." Arion's Ghost said.

"I don't understand." Kara shook her head, "It's all so confusing."

"Watch."

Arion and Lady Chian came out into the garden, a blonde girl of about three toddling beside them. And a dark haired boy who looked slightly younger trailed after them. They were chatting, but Kara could not hear what they were saying.

"Why can't I hear them?" Kara asked.

"Because this part of the spell is beginning to fall apart. I'm sorry Kara. I'm a projection of the symbio-ship and the damage to the symbio-ship you inflicted after it went mad and tried to imprison you has damaged parts of my memory." Arion said.

"Who are the people with you?" Kara said, even though looking at the little blonde girl gave her a funny feeling.

"That's your grandmother Lady Chian. The love of my life and the best wife I could have ever had." Arion said, "That is your brother Khater. And that of course is you as a child."

"Brother?"

"Yes. Your older brother Khater." Arion's Ghost said, "He was named after your father's closest friend. While you were named after your mother."

"So that was true?"

"The symbio-ship created a reality as close to the truth as possible."

"Where are my parents?"

"They are dead. They were killed in battle with my brother Gar Daanuth. We never found your mother's body. But, your father's aide-de-camp returned your father's broken body and gave me the information I needed to track down my brother and banish him back to the Darkworld." Arion's Ghost said, his voice grim. "My dark and twisted brother has been the cause of much death and destruction for our people and our family."

In the vision around them, the baby Kara lifted her grandfather in the air as though he weighed nothing. There was still no sound, but Kara watched as everyone laughed, their eyes filling with happy tears.

"I was born with these powers?" Kara asked quietly.

"Your powers were a gift from your mother. She was gifted with super-strength and the power of flight. Both you and your brother inherited those powers. You however, were born with certain genetic differences… there is untapped magic running through your bloodline. A gift from me, thru your father. One your brother did not share. And one that resulted in you being so far away from home and your proper time." Arion's Ghost said.

"So, why Krypton? Why Superman?" Kara asked, tears welling up. She was being presented with an entire family here, one that had just as quickly been torn away as her family tie to Superman had been.

"The specific reasons for that unfortunately have been lost. When the spell that created your symbio-ship went awry causing it to go rogue, portions of my memory were damaged. So, alas, there are in some cases incomplete answers." Arion's Ghost said.

The projection of Arion had then hugged her, bidding her farewell before fading away, the last of the magic in the symbio-ship evaporating, leaving only the star-shaped symbol of Arion on her belt. She had blinked her eyes and found herself sitting on the floor of the Fortress of Solitude, dizzy, amid the ruins of the symbio-ship which was now a pile of glittering purple crystal and quartz.

Superman landed on the building behind her, startling her out of her memories and into the present.

"I brought you these." Superman said, tossing a pair of yellow boots at her feet and an exo-skeleton. "The boots have rockets in them. So if you loose your power of flight again, you can at least make it safely to the ground. The exo-skeleton will keep you at super-strength, although not as super as your usual power levels."

"Thank you." Power Girl said, still unable to meet his eyes.

"Well, I figured you are going to risk your life no matter what I say or whether or not you have your powers. So, at least you can use this stuff in the meantime. The rocket boots are good for seven days of continuous flight before they need to be recharged. I'll bring the charger to you later. This exo-skeleton is made of a alloy powered by solar energy and able to absorb any impact and use it to renew it's power-levels. Just make sure to avoid black holes and planets with no sunlight."

"Thank you again." Power Girl said.

"I'm going to be in town until Sunday. I'm covering the gala at the Bialyan Cultural Center this Friday for the Daily Planet. I would like to go to dinner at some point, so that we can talk out of these costumes. I have an interview Saturday morning with Ambassador Kirkarius. But other than that, my schedule is pretty free. Even if it isn't, I'm more than willing to rearrange and re-coordinate things to make room. I suggest you do the same." Superman said, his expression stern.

"I'll tell Beverly this afternoon when I get to the office to fit you in. I'll have her call you with the time and place."

"Good. There is a matter in Metropolis I need to see to." Superman nodded then flew off into the afternoon without another word.

Power Girl watched him go, watching after him for several minutes, the point where he had disappeared in the direction of Metropolis looked brighter than any other portion of the sky.

She traded her boots for the rocket boots and slipped the exo-skeleton on over her outfit.

In room #413, Brunhilda had finished cleaning and tidying up the room. All that remained was to vacuum the room. Despite the warnings she'd been given about the cat, despite what that cat had done to poor Gertrude only days before, the cat had not moved from it's perch in the window. It had merely laid there, watching Brunhilda with only nominal curiosity, swished it's tail about, yawned, and spent a good twenty minutes licking it's self.

"Disgusting beast." Brunhilda hissed, as the cat continued going to town in cleaning it's self. A loud slurring sound filled the room. In her youth, she had not tolerated cats. She had always thought them to be offspring of the Devil, familiars for witches. Her God-fearing father in Biayla had told her that only witches and Satanists kept cats for pets. Brunhilda wondered which of those Ms. Karen Starr was. She was a single woman in her late twenties heading a multi-million dollar software company. Since there were computers involved, that tended to indicate a Satanist. If it was a catering company or some sort of health food business then it would clearly make Karen Starr a witch.

Brunhilda removed the vacuum cleaner from the cart, unspooling it's tightly wrapped cord and plugging it into the nearest socket.

For the first time the cat's attention to his crotch was forsaken, and his one good eye trained on the vacuum cleaner.

The Cat had started his life as a normal little golden red colored kitten, one of a litter born in an alley in the Bronx. Within his first few weeks of life, rats had eaten all of his brother and sisters and left he and his mother fighting for life in the mean streets of New York. Eventually the Dark Man had caught his mother, taking her away in a truck. The Cat had been on his own for a very long time, making his way the only way he knew how until wandering into the Justice League's New York Embassy. One transporter trip later, and he'd been in France, embraced by the Blonde One. She had been the first one since his mother to bestow any love upon him and she had taken him in. For that, he was eternally grateful. His life had gone from hardscrabble and a daily struggle to posh surroundings and never-ending food. Sure, the Blonde One sometimes was gone for days on end, often showed up with weird things on her face with little windows, and more times than he could remember smelled of blood and fire. But, she loved him and treated him well. He was mostly unconcerned with that fact she hadn't been to this room for a few days, but the Gray Lady had shown up and fed him and watered him, and truthfully the Cat loved her almost as much as he loved the Blonde One.

Now, the Cat watched the machine. The one much like the ones that had sent him scuttling under a bed back at the embassies… one that vaguely resembled the ones that the Woman Who Cleaned brought. But, none of those machines had ever been pushed by such a lump of human—one that had malevolence and hate radiating from her in a way the Cat had not witnessed since the Dark Man who had taken his mother and tried to capture him.

When the Angry Lumpy One started the machine, the Cat jumped from his perch, the shock and fear racing through him in an instant, causing his hair to stand on end and parting his mouth in a hiss that sliced through the air.

Brunhilda noted the Cat's displeasure and smiled to herself, pushing the vacuum cleaner toward the Cat, her grin growing monstrous. She shoved the machine roughly, it slamming into the wall beneath the window seat the Cat hissed from. It was with only mild surprise that Brunhilda watched the Cat launch himself toward the vacuum cleaner.

It was what happened next that surprised her, almost as much as it surprised the Cat. In the moment before, Brunhilda and the Cat's eyes met and a look of hate passed between them. And then it happened.

The explosion could be heard throughout the hotel as glass rained down on the street below.

Three hours after Superman had left her sulking on a building top, Power Girl had retrieved a previous costume from her storage facility—the white and yellow jumpsuit she had started wearing shortly after joining the first Justice League Europe. It concealed the exo-skeleton (and her body) better than her normal one did and had a stronger blend of Kevlar and promethium in it. She'd started wearing it after being wounded during a confrontation with the Gray Man that had left her powers reduced for a while. Although it was seriously dated fashion-wise, it was the best choice until her powers were no longer on-again off-again.

Not that it mattered at this point. Her powers were back.

Standing on a rooftop near the Bialyan Ambassador's hotel room, Power Girl scanned the rooftops with super-vision. The Ambassador had been taken to the hospital for treatment after the bombing, but he had been discharged and sent back to his hotel room. More guards surrounded him, however the man still showed no sign of fear or of returning to his home country. Power Girl was nearly glad, since it gave her something to occupy her time with rather than pouting and dwelling on the verbal smackdown she'd let Superman give her. What the Hell was wrong with her? Normally she would have never let him put her in her place like that.

"Of course, normally you would not be acting like such a whiny baby feeling sorry for yourself." Power Girl muttered to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by a light beeping in her right earring.

"So what have you got for me?" The voice asked from the transmitter in her right earring.

"I'm dealing with an assassin." Power Girl said into the microphone in her left earring. "She has been trying to assassinate Ambassador Kirkarius from Bialya. She has made several attempts, and her most recent one killed twenty innocent bystanders. "

"I'd heard about that. Big Blue said you ran into some kind of trouble during the first attempt. Something about a gun that stole your powers." The voice replied, "So what can I do for you Peegee?"

"I need to know who the assassin is. Why she wants to kill Kirkarius. And what she shot me with." Power Girl said. "And let it be noted you are the only person I would dare let call me Peegee."

"Well, you used to call me Beegee back in the day. At least yours doesn't sound like some washed up 70's disco band." The voice chuckled lightly, "So what can you tell me about your girl assassin?"

"She was wearing a dark gray body suit. It was skin-tight, but looked like the standard Kevlar-Promethium blend that goes into all meta-wear these days. She was wearing dark goggles that covered her eyes. And she wasn't that great of a shot. However, she did have a silver pistol that shot a red laser that has left my powers on the fritz. Also she appeared to have super-speed and above human strength levels."

"What do you mean your powers are on the fritz?"

"My powers are on-again and off-again. Right now, they're on-again."

"Interesting. So, this isn't your normal thing where your powers are all over the map. They're just there, or they're not there?"

"Yep."

"Let me see what I have. Give me a few minutes."

"No sweat." Power Girl said.

Her eyes were trained on the window on the fifth floor that the Ambassador and his staff were hiding out in. The blinds were drawn tightly and there was no way to see in or out. At least he was being cautious now. Power Girl watched using X-Ray vision. When her powers had returned earlier, the X-Ray vision had come with it. She hadn't had X-Ray vision since before being wounded during the Crisis.

"I'm back Peegee." The voice in her ear said.

"What do you have for me?" Power Girl gritted her teeth at the nickname. She'd punched Guy Gardner out the first time she'd called him that. It had knocked him nice for a few days until she'd punched him out again for calling her sweetheart in a really sweet and wholesome way.

"Well Ambassador Kirkarius was formerly a highly ranking general in the Bialyan Reform Party. Which is now the New Bialyan Republic, which is the government that took over after the first Queen Bee was overthrown as leader."

"So, could it be her sister or some of the first Queen Bee's minions? We haven't heard anything from her in several years." Power Girl asked.

"Well intel after the fact indicates that she didn't really die, she went into hiding."

"There was a body." Power Girl replied.

"Well, we both know that doesn't mean anything in this crazy world of ours." Oracle replied. "The Queen Bee is ruthless enough. And she is dangerous. Although she would probably be more interested in assassinating the current King of Bialya and trying to take the throne back. The thing is the regime is actually worse than the Queen Bee ever was. Don't let the name New Bialyan Republic fool you; it's a fascist state. And during the violent civil war, there were atrocities committed. Stuff the United Nations is investigating and trying to prove. And Ambassador Kirkarius was responsible for some of the worst of it."

"Such as?"

"He was responsible for killing every man, woman, and child in a village south of the capitol. Over ten thousand people in one night. No one got out alive… if the rumors are believed. Which I tend to do. The official word is that radical rebels still loyal to the Queen Bee were responsible. It was a village historically loyal to the Queen Bee due to the fact that her mother was from there. But, there is no clear evidence either way—only the evidence the New Bialyan Republic has provided, which obviously puts them in the clear."

"And the UN hasn't intervened because?" Power Girl shook her head.

"Because as I said there is no clear proof of who was responsible. And obviously no one is taking credit for obliterating a village. In their defense, the UN does have a delegation there investigating. But, so far the New Bialyan Republic has covered their tracks very well."

"So, there's the motive. And at least one possibility as to who hired her." Power Girl said.

"Any idea as to who she is?"

"Not really. Assassins with super-speed are a dime a dozen thanks to Velocity 10."

"Velocity 10?"

"Yep. Latest version of a designer drug that gives you super-speed. This one is better than the others. It's less addictive and has longer lasting abilities. Obviously, it's more expensive to make up for the fact that less people are going to get strung out on it."

"Don't you just love how drugs work?" Power Girl laughed bitterly. "She had super-strength as well and perhaps above-human reflexes. Not Deathstroke level, but quicker than Batman."

"It's fully possible it's Amazonia. It's a synthetic drug that gives people Amazon level powers without any of the peace-loving disposition."

"I'm sure Diana loves that."

"Based on your description of the weapon and what it does, it resembles a prototype that disappeared from STAR Labs a few months ago called the MS76. It was being developed for use in SCU departments across the country to help counteract meta-crime."

"Blast the villain, kill their powers." Power Girl groaned.

"Yep. Good news is that the effects of the weapon are temporary. And are meant to fade over time. The bad news is that over time means anywhere from four to six weeks."

"OK." Power Girl sighed, "It's not the end of the world. It just complicates matters for the next couple of weeks."

"I've got you an appointment at STAR Labs in downtown New Athens, Virginia, where the weapon was developed tomorrow. If anyone could help you decrease the power loss sooner, they'd be the ones. I have you listed as Karen Steele. The doctor you'll be seeing knows you're Power Girl, which is why the need for the alias so as to protect your real secret ID. But, an alias will distract the journalists who would love to splash this news on the front page of the Meta-Examiner or the Brave and the Bold."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"You owe me more than one." It was followed by light laughter.

"So nothing on the woman?" Power Girl asked.

"Unfortunately not. There are about a thousand different female assassins that are pulled up based on your information. I even tried cross-referencing Bialya, but that didn't really do much more than shave off about fifty. I do have the computer cross-referencing the current known whereabouts of those assassins. I'd say in an hour or so, I should have a shorter list."

"OK. It's a start. Thanks Babs."

"No problem Peegee. When it narrows the list and I have something to go on, I'll be in contact."

"Sounds good."

"Take care of yourself. Give me a call if you need anything else." Oracle hesitated for a moment, "Even if you just want to fly over to Gotham and have coffee or something."

"I might just take you up on that." Power Girl replied.

The line in her earring speaker went dead just as a jagged bolt of lightning coupled with a low rumbling of thunder rolled across the sky, dragging dark churning clouds with it.

As the first drops of rain began to fall, Power Girl groaned.

"Just my luck." She wished that she had a cape or a hood right now. At times like these she understood that Batman's cowl must have a little bit more going for it than just being scary. She remembered teasing Barbara Gordon about the bat-cowl relentlessly the first time they'd teamed up, when they were just side-kicks of a fashion. That was one thing they'd always had in common, while not side-kicks the way Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy had been, they weren't quite protégé's either. Batman had always grudgingly and reluctantly accepted Batgirl as a member of his family, and Superman had truly tried to shield Power Girl and hide her away until she knew how to truly use her powers.

But, that was all so long ago.

Power Girl frowned. Barbara Gordon, then Batgirl, had been Power Girl's first friend. Once they had gotten over insecurities about the other. Barbara had thought Karen a blonde bimbo, and Karen had thought that Barbara was smarter. They had been really uncomfortable and distant with one other for some time.

Then during a brief period when the Justice Society had been operating out of their old brownstone in Gotham City, Power Girl and Batgirl had struck up a friendship on a JSA mission that Batgirl ended up tagging along on. After that, they'd fought crime side by side more than once. They'd infiltrated an all girl's detective school that was hypnotizing it's students into committing crimes, they'd fought a woman who thought she was the reincarnation of Cleopatra, and they'd fought some creep called the Annihilator who'd been siphoning Karen's powers. The last Batgirl-Power Girl team-up had been during the Crisis, while red skies had covered the skies of Gotham City and Barbara had doubted if the world needed Batgirl.

Power Girl's frown deepened. When she had heard about what had happened, Power Girl had been ready to hunt the Joker down and kill him herself. Superman and Batman had both urged her not to, Superman had to physically restrain her. However, it had been Barbara who had prevented it. "It would make you no better than him, Karen. No matter what awful things he's done… no matter what he did to me. No matter how many people he's killed… that's not what justice is about. Justice is not an eye for an eye."

Those words still haunted Power Girl some nights. That and the way Barbara had looked when saying them. So small and broken in that hospital bed, nothing like the powerful woman who had risked her life so many times to save those in danger, who had pushed herself to always be better, and had continued being Batgirl even when she wasn't sure that she was making a difference—because she was brave and she knew that someone had to look out for those who needed help and had no powers of their own. A bravery and a drive that were so deeply ingrained in Barbara that she had become Oracle, working behind the scenes in a chair to bring justice to the world and it's people.

Power Girl looked at her rocket boots, feeling the contours of the exo-skeleton beneath her yellow and white costume and knew that even if she lost all of her powers and it was permanent, she would still find a way to fight crime and injustice. It was just part of who she was.

Super-hearing had come and gone since the Crisis. At this moment, she was grateful that her powers were back and that super-hearing was among them. It was the only way she heard the snapping sound of the trigger and the bullet sizzling toward the air toward her head. Stepping out of the way, just in case her invulnerability went out, Power Girl reached out, grabbing the bullet from mid-air, pleased to find that while it was hot to the touch, it did not burn her finger.

Flicking the bullet away, Power Girl launched herself toward the direction the bullet had come from, flying through the air quickly.

As she neared the building from where the bullet had been fired, Power Girl saw the assassin begin to run, her dark Kevlar-promethium body-suit blurring into a dark streak as she began to run at super-speed.

Power Girl swept down, catching the assassin just before she reached a speed that Power Girl couldn't have matched. Power Girl arched up into the sky, flying away from the city.

"You're supposed to be powerless!" The assassin cried out.

"I know that's how you thought I'd be. But you used a prototype gun." Power Girl replied, "It didn't work quite the way you assumed it would. That's the trouble with prototypes. They don't have all the bugs worked out."

"Put me down!" The assassin screamed, dropping her rifle.

"As you wish." Power Girl let the woman go.

The woman shrieked as she began hurtling toward the ground, falling end over end.

Power Girl let her free-fall for several seconds before flying after her. A split second before the assassin struck the ground, Power Girl had her in her arms and was flying back up into the sky.

"Don't do that again!" The woman screamed.

"You said to put you down." Power Girl replied.

"That's not what I meant!" The assassin screamed at her.

"Boy, you're shrill. You always scream like this?"

"Only when stupid super-bimbos in skimpy costumes drop me!"

"That's just rude. My costume isn't even skimpy. I'm completely covered. Sure it's a little tight, but everything is well covered."

Once they were nearly a mile above the city, Power Girl came to a stop, hovering in place.

"Now, tell me why you're so set on killing the ambassador."

"He's a murderer. He slaughtered an entire village! My parents were in that village. He deserves to die for that alone!" The assassin screamed. "Not to mention the other atrocities he and his President and the government are responsible to. We have to send a message to the New Republic of Bialya that their crimes will no longer be tolerated, that we're going to be liberated. That justice is coming for them."

"Do you really think killing them is going to make you any better than they are?" Power Girl asked the assassin.

"Don't pull your sanctimonious do-gooder crap with me." The assassin hissed, "You American super friends are always lecturing us like that. How can you not accept that sometimes the only way to stop a monster is to kill it? How many times has Batman let the Joker go free? And how many more people have died because the Batman won't just step in and put a bullet between the Joker's eyes?"

Power Girl winced at the mention of the Joker. "It's wrong to take a life."

"At the expense of how many? How many people have to die before you heroes will stop hiding behind a sense of false morality? How many people must lose their parents so you can feel you have clung to a moral code? What does your moral code mean to me? It does not bring back my parents! It does not bring back all of the people who Kirkarius has had killed!"

"No, it doesn't. But, it's still not right." Power Girl said, "Do you want freedom for your people and a government that stands for what is good and what is right? Or do you just want another government based on bloodshed and violence? How many villages will die when the revolution you support comes to your land? How many ambassadors will have to die? Eventually you end up killing anyone and everyone who doesn't agree with you. It's a slippery slope you'd best just avoid."

"Stop lecturing me. I am an assassin for the rebellion. I was sent to kill Kirkarius for our cause and in the name of justice." The assassin hissed. "Your United Nations has been investigating for nearly a year now, and they can find no evidence. We would wait for years and years until finally they dismiss the case and determine that they can find no one to blame. Without a confession, they will never find the evidence they need. And Kirkarius continues his World Tour on money stolen and blackmailed from the people of Bialya."

Power Girl could feel her super-powers begin to ebb away. At least she was getting a warning.

Power Girl came to a landing on a rooftop, releasing her grip on the assassin. Power Girl pushed a button concealed on her wrist bracelet, activating the exo-skeleton.

"If I say I'll help you prove his guilt, will you let me try to help you?" She asked the assassin.

"What can you do?" The assassin asked.

"Plenty." Power Girl replied, "What's your name?"

"Anath." The assassin replied.

"Anath. That's the name of the Bialyan goddess of justice and vengeance." Power Girl replied quietly.

"How do you know that?" Anath gasped in shock.

"I know everyone thinks I'm just a dumb blonde with big boobs, but I do have more than two brain cells. When I was in the JLE and we were fighting the Queen Bee, I spent a lot of time learning about Bialya and it's people. It's just one of those things I do. Cultures fascinate me. I spent so long living a—" Power Girl stopped herself. "I just know."

"My parents named me after her. So, I could have a good strong name." Anath said.

"There has to be a way we can prove he's guilty to the world courts and help get some real change in your country."

The assassin hesitated for a moment, "You cannot understand what it's like. My entire family was killed by him. My entire village was destroyed. You cannot know what it's like to lose your entire family and all that you know in one instant. I owe him. I owe his president."

"I do understand. More than you realize." Power Girl said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "There is a better way."

Anath frowned.

"I'm sorry." Anath whispered.

With a solid kick, Anath sent Power Girl flying backward.

Power Girl cried out in surprise more than pain. She landed with a thump on the roof, sending spidery cracks arcing out from all around her and knocking the wind from her lungs.

"You Americans… so gullible. Is it any wonder people like Kirkarius so often pull the wool over the eyes of you and your United Nations?" Anath's voice simmered with hatred as Power Girl gasped for breath.

Power Girl watched in shock as Anath leaped from the top of the building to the street below. Before Power Girl could get to her feet, the assassin had bounced out of sight.

"Well… she can at least leap tall buildings in a single bound." Power Girl muttered sarcastically.

She activated her rocket boots and took to the sky, calling up Oracle on her earring communicator.

"What's up Peegee?"

"Well, the assassin just drop-kicked me with super-strength and then took a giant leap and bounced off into the night. She said her name was Anath, which is the name of a Bialyan goddess of justice and vengeance. She said her parents gave it to her, however, I don't know if it means it's her real name or a nickname." Power Girl said, flying through the streets of Century City. The rocket boots would only go so fast, and unfortunately it was not as fast as she could have flown. Anath had escaped into the night.

"How are you?"

"The exo-skeleton absorbed most of the impact." Power Girl replied.

"What about your pride?"

"Oh, you know me." Power Girl laughed humorlessly, "I can take my licks with the best of them."

TO BE CONTINUED