Grip of the Mind Thieves, Chapter 13! Shell Game Report
General Summary
BREAKING NEWS!
RIOT IN THE PARK ESCALATES!
Bronze Tempest, Moon Knight, and Tesla Coil in Action! by CB Ash
More on the situation at Central Park!
The balloons and drones that have scattered over Central Park are being dealt with by three groups. One is New York's own Code Blue working to escort the remaining civilians to safety. This has only grown more complicated as the drones have taken a more aggressive stance, firing on NYPD's meta powered unit.
But some of the heat has been taken off. New York's own, Knight Thrasher is leading a team comprising the Harlequin, Green Dragonfly, and Spider Lily. Though their combined efforts, drones on the north and south ends of Central Park are either disabled or snared.
In the Bandshell area of Central Park, things have deteriorated. Packs, or swarms, of drones were working in unison to corner both local vigilantes and civilians alike and subject them to a battery of mutagenic ooze. For a short time, Moon Knight was a victim, as were several New Yorkers that wandered too close to the action.
New eyewitness reports place four mutated New Yorkers in the fray against the Knights Vigilant. Meta-powered in a fashion similar to the new vigilante, Bronze Tempest , they rushed in and attacked everything in sight. Vigilante, civilian, even the balloon-laden drones. The latter has only increased the chaos.
In addition, a dark version of Moon Knight, what some have dubbed the 'negative Moon Knight' or Nega-Knight has ambushed the vigilantes. His current target seems to be Moon Knight at the moment who is fighting the attacker to a stalemate. Is this Nega-Knight in part to blame for the current chain of events? It's unknown at this time.
Unofficial confirmation has surfaced that the criminal mastermind, Dr. Overmind is the one responsible for the ooze and the attacks. Still, his goal remains unknown.
This story is still in progress and rapidly unfolding at this time.
OOZE EXPOSE: ORIGIN OF THE OOZE, PT 5
by Meil MingReporting from Vibora Bay, this is a continuing look into the Orange Ooze mutagen that threatens New York City's Central Park area. This is a breaking update in the investigation.
New analysis from Phoenix Industries delivered to the Dawn Sun Reporter show that the composition of the Ooze matches preliminary results against pollen from a rare plant called, the Crystal Jade Vine. This rare and endangered plant factors into cultural record legends in the Amazon Basin, Tibet, regions of the Australian outback, Indonesia, and oral traditions of ancient cultures in what is now Vibora Bay.
According to experts from the Franklin Institute and Leopardworks Savanna Ltd, the rare plant is considered critically endangered. As such, its illegal to transport without a license. This hasn't deterred certain organizations, such as the Golden Lotus, from smuggling and cultivating the plant. For the Golden Lotus, this is specifically for the meta-powered tattoos they are infamous for.
Anonymous sources in the Vibora Bay area suggest that the mysterious Ivory Talons are one of the major buyers. Currently, they are completing for sole control over the Jade Vine plant. Authorities in Vibora Bay have evidence that the Bonegrinders are the leading criminal gang that would traffic in endangered species like the Crystal Jade Vine.
Further information about the Bonegrinders and Ivory Talons with respect to their connection to the Jade Vine plant is forthcoming.
FROM THE BLOTTER
Police responded this evening to another outbreak of violence, this time at the 59th Street Marine Transfer Station at Pier 99.
This followed on the heels of a local vigilante group combating a collection of advanced robotic attack devices that had taken several city employees hostage. These devices were delivered to both the NYPD CSI division and the NYPD's Meta division, Code Blue, for study.
Local gang members of the Disco Boys, provided key eyewitness accounts of the rescue by the vigilante team and leads to the origin of the robotic devices.
Rescued city employees have been taken in for care and treatment at the time of this reporting.
FROM THE BLOTTER continued on page A6.
CITY BEAT
More information has come to light from the underground facility beneath Central Park.
According to city archives this experimental "pneumatic tube" subway system was the brainchild of one Alfred Ely Beach. The first, more public known attempt was in 1870. That lasted until 1873 before it was converted to the "pneumatic tube mail system". Records now coming to light describe a second attempt by Beach to create an improved "pneumatic tube transit system", building on what he learned from the previous attempt.
Beach, now considered by historians as the "Tony Stark of the 19th Century", was known for remarkable inventions far ahead of their time. Groundbreaking work that paved the way for many aspects of New York's infrastructure today.
Right now, a crew from New York's Sanitation Department has sent an update on the battle beneath the streets. The Knights Vigilant have gotten the upper hand against the "Science Court" combat robots. But explosions rock the underground area as hawk-winged mutants have joined the combat. Reports are that concussive explosives have been used. So far no one has been reported as injured and the infrastructure has withstood the shock.
No update on the 'Silver Ninja' that has appeared below. The crew reports she's taken no hostile action against the Knights Vigilant and in fact was seen to approach at least two members, Taki and Sahara. It's speculated that this Silver Ninja might be an ally of the vigilante team.
CITY BEAT continued on page A3.
STAR LABS / WAYNETECH PROTOTYPE TEST CONTNUES
Mid-day the new STAR Labs / WayneTech "Avatar" prototype took its first steps today outside the lab.
Fledgling research into the world of human to machine communication took a bold new step today, with the joint progress reporting success as a 'drone pilot' was able to successfully manipulate a holographic drone under controlled conditions.
This hologram was, with limited success, able to allow the pilot to access and enter a hazardous area though a new neural interlink technology.
PROTOTYPE FIELD TESTS continued on page A9.
