Ivory Talons, Chapter 2: Slippery as Ice! Report
General Summary
Friday, September 11, 2009, 8:00 pm - Brooklyn, NY
Canidae Technologies manufacturing plant, #392
The agreement with Dr. Victor Fries - "Mr Freeze" - led the team to fly to Brooklyn via their "Fantasti-Car" aircar, after a quick stop for a take out meal along the way. In minutes they cross the East River and arrive at the Canidae Technologies manufacturing plant, #392, in the Columbia Street Waterfront District.
The layout of the District is a wide, asphalt plain with few decorative trees and garden plots. Circling the area, the team searches for a landing place, settling on the roof of a SpectorCorp warehouse. They took a few moments to get their bearings, then kept a sharp watch on the Canidae Technologies factory. The factory was dark, save for a few emergency lights. Yet, the place looked in good repair. Abandoned? Inhabited? They couldn't tell.
None of them knew anything about Canidae Technologies beyond second-hand knowledge. Moon Knight, as Mark Spector, had tried to buy the remanufacturing firm once, only to be rebuffed. The company was privately held and had no interest to sell shares on the open market. Even the identities of their backers were kept confidential.
Sahara dispersed into his sand cloud form to scout the area, Moon Knight used his small camera drones from Tesla Coil, and Statesman scanned the factory itself with his x-ray vision. They all came back with the same result about the factory. It was still, the automation assembly arms were motionless.
However, Moon Knight discovered in the sewers a door leading to the underground transportation tunnels that criss-cross the New York area and its boroughs. The lock was new, far too sturdy for his drones. It proved no match to Sahara who slid in and around the door, to attack the lock from the inside. The team proceeded down to the tunnels, looking for a better way inside than the front door.
They found what they were looking for.
Beneath the factory was an industrial loading dock, easily the size to accommodate more than one semi-truck and trailer. An elevator in the back - also industrial-sized - completed the scene. Concerned over alarms, Moon Knight tracked down the power junction to the factory. He headed inside to disable the power. Unfortunately, a stray jolt of electricity triggered a change, bringing out his alter ego "Khonshu"! Confronted with technology - what he considers a 'sorcerous evil' - he launched a moonbeam energy bolt into the junction box, slagging the entire assembly. Power died in the factory and the neighboring buildings.
As Knonshu raged about the evils of technology, the team examined the elevator. Sahara flew up the shaft and again scouted the location as a sand cloud. The factory remained still and empty. It had to be a trap, they were sure of it. This prompted the Knights Vigilant and Dr. Fries to forge a plan. Taki and Sahara would slip back outside, then lie in wait for the ambushers. Moon Knight, who had regained control over himself from Khonshu - along with Statesman and Dr. Fries would make the climb up the elevator shaft to the factory to trigger the trap.
Outside, Taki and Sahara had not even settled in before they found their would-be ambushers. Some of the Disco Boys! The pair jumped the trio of gang members, quickly subduing them after a short fight and stealing a mysterious remote. Sahara quickly removed the batteries from the device.
Inside the factory, Moon Knight, Statesman, and Dr. Fries emerged into the materials loading area with a large conveyor belt leading deeper into the factory. They could see in the gloom, the automation robots sitting idle. Still, nothing moved. Dr. Fries confirmed his tracker was here somewhere, but due to limitations in the technology, an exact location couldn't be pinpointed. Statesman suggested it was bait from the Clock King. Dr. Fries agreed that might be true, but he had his doubts. They searched the loading area, finding nothing but parts, refurbished gears for timing belts - which explained the Clock King's interest in the factory and the unusual find of a discarded wrapper for a ration bar. The wrapper was stamped with the symbol of the Hammer Empire! Moon Knight showed the others. They knew this was a trap.
Just then, a message appeared via a battery-operated control station.
It was the Clock King. He knew operating in the New York area would attract heroes. However, he cannot allow them to interfere. The recording ended, and the factory sealed itself! Blast proof shutters sealed the windows and doors, trapping them inside! Statesman and Dr. Fries went to work trying to freeze the metal around a window to temperatures cold enough the metal could be shattered with a kick. Meanwhile, Moon Knight investigated the factory.
He hit paydirt upstairs.
At a control station overlooking the factor, Moon Knight found two pieces of paper. Both had been folded and obviously accidentally lost. The first contained a list of numbers that counted down from 12 to 1. Next to each number were addresses. The Canidae Technologies factory was next to number 5. The other paper held an ornate doodle of a Venetian styled face mask. Smooth with no identifying features. The detail suggested a carnival mask. The image didn't stir any memories for Moon Knight. He told his teammates over the communicator about the paper with the numbers and addresses.
Before anyone could react, the automation stations started to move. Moving out of their concealed housings emerged humanoid Hercules Class "Titan" robots! Combat and security robots invented by the Hammer Empire! On the heels of that, a new voice echoed through the factory. It was Big Daddy of the Disco Boys!
He said that he actually wasn't there to provide a beat down. Instead, they were hired as messengers. This time, with a little hacking to turn on those Titan robots, they were there to deliver a little 'hello' from the Science Court! Specifically to serve a sentence of "GUILTY" against their rival, Moon Knight! Then all nine Titan combat robots went on the attack!
The battle tore through the factory in seconds. Robots cut loose with cobalt energy blasts. Statesman hurled pennies with his usual uncanny accuracy to puncture robot armor and sever power connections. This slowed the robots down, however, their self-repair systems brought the devices back online in seconds. Mr. Freeze continued either freezing the metal walls to weaken them, or freezing robots to the floor. Moon Knight raced along the catwalk overhead, hurling his own attacks from above.
Outside, in an effort to help, Taki and Sahara took possession of one of the Disco Boys' escape vehicles: a stretch corvette. Slamming the pedal down, Taki careened the vehicle down the street, then aimed it at the factory wall in hopes to batter the already ice-weakened wall open. While she worked to get to top speed, Sahara raced over the factory and ripped down - or deconstructed - the brick exterior to weaken it further. Afterward, he waited to grab or catch Taki when she leaped to safety at the last moment. The car - after a false run at the factory - struck the wall ripping a hole inside. Sahara and Taki rushed in to help their teammates.
The battle was over in seconds once the whole team was engaged. They took down the robots, however, the structure of the factory gave out. With a last ugly groan, the floor over the elevator shaft collapsed under the weight of the stretch corvette. This caused a chain reaction. Walls bent as support beams twisted. Catwalks collapsed.
That was then two cars arrived with what the heroes assumed and suspected was Hammer Empire troopers come to investigate the destruction, if not to see what was caught in the trap.
... to be continued!
Character(s) interacted with
Dr. Victor Fries ( "Mr. Freeze" ) - renown criminal from Gotham City.
"Titan" Robot troopers - Hammer Empire's "Hercules Class" of Security and Combat robot
Disco Boys- A disco themed street gang that operates in New York City. Specifically including one of their lieutenants, Big Daddy!
and by mention ... the nefarious "Science Court" ... sworn enemies of Moon Knight!
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