Niobe Group

The **Niobe Group**, commonly known among its members as the **Club**, was a support group for mothers who had lost their children, based in Manhattan. They were well known for meeting in abandoned buildings. The support group came to prominance due to their connection to the Empire Killer case, with all of the victims being the families of friends of the group's individual members.

## History

### Empire Killer Case

#### Welcoming Marie

In early 2020, the Club welcomed Marie Anderson into their group and introduced her to their tradition of meeting bi-weekly in abandoned buildings. Marie, who had lost her husband and children in a murder-suicide relatively recently, had been discharged from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center a few months before.

#### Link to Crimes

Eventually, both Nobody and Adrian Sheppard discovered the link between the Club and the Empire Killer's victims: all of the victims had been the families of members of the Club or the families of friends of members of the Club.

#### Hostages

Upon the revelation that Marie Anderson was the mastermind behind the Empire Killer, Marie began the final stage of her plan. She began by persuading the Club's members to hold their bi-weekly meeting at the abandoned Manhattan Psychiatric Center, where, unbeknownst to the Club, Marie had been kept following the death of her family and where she had been driven insane. Upon arriving at the abandoned hospital, Marie held the women at gunpoint while Jake Hendrik tied them to chairs before starting a gas leak; Marie's ultimate goal was to commit suicide with a gun, with the gunshot subsequently causing a gas explosion and killing everyone else in the building. While Marie began this process, the crew of vigilantes led by Nobody eventually deciphered several cryptic passages in Marie's diary; cross-referencing this with abandoned places likely to be visited by the Club allowed the crew to correctly figure out that the Manhattan Psychiatric Center was where Marie had taken them.

The Nobody vigilante, Major Crimes detective Adrian Sheppard and night-shift nurse Stephanie Grimes drove to the abandoned hospital and split up upon smelling a gas major gas leak. The three of them were attacked by Paul O'Neil, another of Marie's lovers using the Empire Killer name, and Adrian told Nobody to find Marie while he dealt with O'Neil. Nobody eventually found Marie holding a gun to her head with the members of the Club crying for help. The vigilante removed his mask and revealed himself to be Marie's friend Michael, who told Marie that he understood that she was in pain but that he hoped that she could still be saved. Marie refused and raised the gun to her temple. At that moment, Adrian was forced to shoot O'Neil dead in self-defence, setting off a small explosion that incapacitated Adrian and distracted Marie long enough for Michael to throw a knife into Marie's arm and charge at her. The two wrestled for the gun and Nobody was able to temporarily incapacitate Marie, but he was attacked by Jake Hendrik before he could rescue the Club members. While Nobody fought Hendrik, the tied-up Club members began sliding the gun between them to stop Marie from grabbing it and setting off the explosion.

Eventually, Nobody defeated Hendrik and confronted Marie once more, only to discover she was now holding Stephanie at gunpoint. Nobody was about to attack until Carla McKenzie, who had escaped her bounds, crept up behind Marie and attacked her; in the chaos, the gun was thrown across the room and fired, triggering a small but devastating gas explosion that shook the building. As the ruined hospital began to collapse, Nobody, Adrian and Stephanie quickly began to rescue the hostages and escort them from the building. They were slowed by Marie, who had recovered from the explosion and was now firing randomly, trying to trigger another blast. Nobody was forced to stop her but sustained a gunshot to the abdomen; nonetheless, the vigilante was able to easily defeat Marie. She demanded that he kill her, saying, if he didn't, she would come after Cassidy Lynn. Enraged, Nobody told Marie that he wouldn't kill her, but he also wouldn't save her. He then abandoned Marie, who began screaming in rage before being silenced as the room collapsed on top of her. Nobody escorted the last few Club members out of the building as it was reduced to rubble.

With their ordeal over, Carla thanked Nobody by name and assured him that none of the Club's members would expose his true identity. A few members later placed flowers on the graves of Marie's husband and children.

## Members

* Carla McKenzie
* *Marie Anderson*

## Trivia

* The group's name, "Niobe", comes from the figure of the same name from Greek mythology who was the prototype of the bereaved mother, weeping for the loss of her children.

## References

1. ↑ "Niobe (Greek mythology)". Britannica