Shania's tribe. Johnny and Shania team up and locate Gilbert at Arkham University, who reveals his true intentions to unleash Malice upon the world before escaping. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, a wanted criminal codenamed "Killer" escapes police pursuit and is fatally injured. He encounters a mysterious mute woman who kills his pursuers and gives him a "Kiss of Malice", healing his wounds. Grateful, he dubs the woman as "Lady" and stays with her. As Johnny and Shania investigate—picking up Frank and Mao along the way—Lady makes her way across North America, seeking out concentrations of Malice. Shania identifies Lady as the being responsible for the attack on her tribe. At one point, Lady gives her Kiss of Malice to Gomez's girlfriend Edna, who is corrupted and turned into a monster Gomez is forced to kill; this leads him to join Johnny's party. They also rescue the vampire Hilda and Roger Bacon from Area 51. At the same time, Gilbert teams up with Lady and a reluctant Killer as Lady is drawn to several South American ruins, unlocking the seals on concentrated pockets of Malice. This summons a massive structure known as the Gate, from which Malice and monsters would pour into the world if opened. The group fail to stop them, and during one encounter Lady kisses Shania, infecting her with Malice. To stop the Gate from opening, Johnny's group travels to Salar de Uyuni to locate an artifact imbued with the power of "Will", a blue light that counterbalances Malice. Killer arrives and attacks them, fatally wounding Johnny. Johnny transforms into a being similar to Lady and attacks the group, forcing Shania to release the Will and return Johnny to normal. This stalls the Gate's opening, but does not stop it due to Lady's presence there. Suspicious of his past, Johnny returns to his family home and discovers that he and his sister Grace died in a car crash. His father teamed up with Brown to steal the mystical Émigré Manuscript from Bacon and perform a resurrection ritual on Johnny and Grace using the combined energies of Malice and Will. The ritual went wrong, and Grace sacrificed her Will to preserve Johnny, turning her into Lady. Johnny accepts the need for Lady's death and travels to the Gate with his companions. Before the final battle, Shania reveals that she may become a monster due to the Malice inside her. The