Grip of the Mind Thieves, Chapter 13: Shell Game
GREETINGS TRUE BELIEVERS!
Welcome back!
When last we left off, the Knights Vigilant had split into two teams. One above ground fought to corral errant drones with a mysterious orange balloon payload. Only, they discovered those drones came armed and dangerous!
Surrounded, attacked on all sides, Moon Knight, Bronze Tempest , Tesla Coil, and Loki Orinson in a fight for their life. A fight that may be for the lives of those still in Central Park, as each of those balloons seems to contain doses of the mutagenic orange ooze! If they don't act quick, the park may be overrun with rampaging orange mutants!
Meanwhile, below ground, the rest of the team found that the so called 'lost subway tunnel' was perhaps not as lost as they thought! Old brick and other structures had been replaced with soft modern lighting, metal panels, and more than modern holographic display screens!
And then there are the combat robots wandering those modern halls!
Now, Taki, Sahara, and Statesman have to unravel just what the combat robots are doing. Are they under the control of Dr. Overmind? Is this Overmind's hidden base of operations? Is the doctor in?
Let's not forget the newcomers who look remarkably like members of the Ivory Talons who had no reason to view our heroes as allies. Then there is the mysterious silvered shape-changing creature that has mimicked Taki's form. Is it a friend... or a foe?
The Knights Vigilants' greatest strength is as a team, True Believers. But Dr. Overmind and his allies may have found a way to neutralize that strength!
Moon Knight announced to his teammates that the drones, the balloons, were all a distraction. Could that be true? Would a mastermind of Overmind's caliber stoop to such elaborate theatrics to distract his greatest adversaries from his final goal?
Could it be the distraction is only bait for a trap that ultimately spells the end of the Knights Vigilant?
Let's find out!
This is Not Stan Lee saying...
EXCELSIOR!
Components
Goals
First...
The members of Mouse Force were mutated by a strange orange ooze. This is the same formula invented by Dr. Killian and almost used by the Clock King to contaminate the local water supply. Orange ooze known to the team to be made from the ultra rare and mysterious Crystal Jade Vine plant.
However, thanks to the research of Dr. Pamela Isley, also known as the eco-terrorist "Poison Ivy", they learned that the orange blossoms of the vine are known to be unstable. Citizens, even the Knights Vigilant's allies, Mouse Force, have been affected.
The clock is slowly ticking as the afflicted may explode in a fiery meta-powered overload.
How did Overmind get the chemical? How did he alter it? These questions still linger...
See the Editor's Note!
The situation is getting dire, True Believers!
'Nuff Said!
The members of Mouse Force are feeling the effects of the orange ooze! At least one member has developed out of control energy blasts out of his eyes! Another is losing control of a runaway phase or dispersal power! Then poor Donata is slowly transforming into a plasma being! While researching how to help the Knights Vigilant, Tesla Coil is working overtime to invent gadgets to stabilize Mouse Force until the other heroes find a cure!
'Nuff Said!
Then...
That ooze has been at the center of recent chaos from riots in Central Park, to an ambush at Pier 1 from a closed down newsstand. The results have been dire, with both citizens and heroes... such as Mouse Force... being mutated by the mysterious chemical.
Our heroes uncovered that Overmind isn't working alone!
Riddles, most appearing the famed New York Times crossword puzzles, gave hints to his criminal activity. Dr. Overmind isn't one for riddles or hints. However his new associate, Silk Sphinx, seems quite fond of them!
Riddle after hint pointed to key buildings around Manhattan and New York. Specifically museums. The Knights Vigilant scrambled to uncover why, but found themselves ensnared in one Overmind distraction after another.
Then came what may be Overmind's second associate... the Black Scarab!
Brutal, agile, and with a mysterious grudge against New York's own Egyptian themed heroes, such as Moon Knight, the Black Scarab's ambushes further snarled the Knights Vigilant's attempts to unravel Overmind's true plan.
But! Help Was Close By!
Detective Hirokoma Kozu of the Central Park Precinct, ally of the Knights Vigilant, met with the heroes atop the precinct rooftop with a bundle of evidence and clues. Overmind's crimes at the museums were bent on creating duplicates of New York City dioramas. Models that depict various parts and layers of New York City.
The heroes set out to find out what and why.
Research of city planning maps over the years, and some help from Kara's precognition, uncovered a long time hidden location in Central Park beneath the Bow Bridge. The mysterious Garden of the Heavens!
This had been taken over by the Golden Lotus and used as an underground greenhouse to grow Crystal Jade Vine plants in the light of strange and unusual glowing crystals in the lowest chamber. Somehow, both the plants and the crystals had the ability to mutate or rewrite a subject's DNA, activating their dormant Meta-Gene or further propelling their Meta-Gene to further express itself!
The Golden Lotus didn't appreciate visitors, yet the heroes were able to discover that Overmind was stealing ink powder, made from the Crystal Jade Vine by the Golden Lotus for their Meta-ink tattoos. The Knights Vigilant suspected this was connected back the Orange Ooze but they had no details beyond that.
But the details they did gain was information from a captured Disco Boy. The Disco Boy gang were using Overmind's heists as a "trojan horse" for thefts of their own. The Knights Vigilant had encountered the gang twice already in the midst of their "trojan horse thefts" but had not made the connection until that moment.
Through the Disco Boys, the heroes learned that Overmind was using the 59th Street Marine Transfer Station at Pier 99 as a waystation. A base to assemble duplicated parts of New York City dioramas with the help of captive, and mesmerized, New York City utility workers.
See the Editor's Note!
There are countless rumors about the Disco Boys and Girls holding the 59th Street Marine Transfer Station in high regard. Even to the point of protecting it, until they feel they can't. Then they "recruit" some nearby hero to "assist". Was all of the "trojan horse" thefts they were committing, just a means to "recruit" the Knights Vigilant?
It would certainly fit the rumor, True Believers!
But only the Disco gangs know for sure!
'Nuff Said!
'Nuff Said!
The diorama confirmed that Overmind's target either is associated with or in the New York City tunnel system. Was it the water supply? Perhaps related to the Stark Enterprises' Tech Expo held in Central Park!
And Now!
Bronze Tempest, Moon Knight, Tesla Coil and Loki are trying to collect the suspicious balloons while dealing with the combat ready hobby drones! So far none of them have been hit by the glowing paintball rounds, save for Loki's long coat. They believe the balloons contain more of the orange ooze that Overmind is using to cause panic in the city.
Below ground, Taki, Statesman, and Sahara are mopping up the Science Court's robotic 'bailiffs'. Those combat androids are well made and armored but so far have not been a tough challenge. But are there more? Is the Science Court working with or for Overmind? Just how far as Dr. Overmind's mind control influence gone?
The heroes have a bucket load of trouble to carry and its not getting any lighter! Now they have to...
See the Editor's Note!
It's a tall order, True Believers!
The heroes have what they think is the solution, or what may be Overmind's target. But there are up to a dozen or two dozen drones, buzzing their way randomly over Central Park. That's a lot to contend with!
But! No matter what else is happening, Overmind is going to use this Knights Vigilant action as a pay per view streaming event, if he can!
'Nuff Said!
'Nuff Said!
Stakes
The heroes know the effects of the orange ooze is a ticking time bomb. Their allies, Mouse Force, have been contaminated. Several city employees and a few civilans have been contaminated as well. If the chemical timer expires, it would spell disaster for Mouse Force and others!
They enlisted Dr. Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, to assist. Is even her brilliant efforts enough? Has Overmind thought of, and planned for even this?
Now, with ooze filled balloons over Central Park, the danger has increased! Would tourists try to stay in Central Park among the danger despite being escorted out by Code Blue and the NYPD?
Relations
Protagonists
The Knights Vigilant!
Sahara
Moon Knight
Taki
"Statesman" ( secretly also known as Trickshot )
Bronze Tempest
Allies
Dr. Pamela Isley, "Poison Ivy" Infamous eco-terrorist and expert on botany and botanical science. Working to analyze the mysterious fluid ... will she find something for the team that can help them?
Detective Hirokoma Kozu Veteran detective of the NYPD Central Park Precinct and contact with the Knights Vigilant.
Danny Chang Now former "Ink Enforcer" of the Golden Lotus, turned student of "The Way" or the philosophies as espoused by Statesman and the Knights Vigilant! Convinced to follow the path of the hero, he struggles with a dark past and deeds done for the Golden Lotus criminal organization.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Detective Kato MacHale Seasoned Code Blue police detective temporarily working at the Central Park NYPD precinct. He helped the heroes during the fight at Manhattan's Pier I, and showed again at the Museum of New York. Is he a friend? or Foe? What is his connection to Taki?
Adversaries
Dr. Overmind! Brilliant inventor and mastermind. Expert at cybernetics and mental interface technology.
The Mysterious Black Scarab, possibly known as 'Set'! He seems to have a grudge against Moon Knight, perhaps against all Egyptian themed vigilantes. What is it?
The mysterious Mistress of Riddles, and ally of Dr. Overmind, the Silk Sphinx! She also seems to know Moon Knight, yet without the same vengence based motivation as the Black Scarab. Is she the true source of the riddles?
See the Editor's Note!
In fact, True Believer, she is!
The nefarious criminal, the Riddler, has long retired from a life of crime. Instead, taking up pursuits such as philanthropy and freelance tutoring of the younger generation of heroes and villains in the fine art of 'deduction'.
Because of this, Silk Sphinx seeks to fill this void left by the Riddler. A criminal seeking to not only conduct her own personal war against the establishment but also show these self-styled 'heroic capes' that she has the superior intellect!
'Nuff Said!
'Nuff Said!
Backdrops
Locations
Mysterious 1890's Pneumatic Train Station!
Long lost and forgotten, this relic of New York's past has been mysteriously refurbished with technology that would make SAFEGUARD surprised! Three of the Knights Vigilant are here delving in this technological mystery all the while running up against yet more, perhaps stolen, combat androids from the Science Court!
Yet! Central Park!
Overmind's plans seem to include the New York City tunnel network. Specifically, the area underneath Central Park near the Stark Expo with the latest and greatest in technological advancements.
Also, a swarm of tiny drones carry balloons over the park, primarily the following locations...
Bow Bridge
Leob Boathouse
Delacorte Theater
Belevedere Castle
... certainly not at all the area between the Great Lawn and the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the Stark Expo is located!
Plot type
Chapter
Parent Plot
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Locations
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