Never go to a doctor whose office plants might eat you…

"Those who turn the instruments of science upon Nature will always be in danger of seeing more than they looked for. There is such a disaster as that of knowing too much, and at some time or another it may overtake each of us."

The funny thing about insane asylums is that the doctors running them are often just as... well, insane, as the inmates whom they care for. In the case of the facility owned by Dr Vincent Morrow, that old adage almost certainly held true and that was after taking into account that his 'patients' were typically infected, possessed or under the control of some sort of Eldritch or infernal creature. Thus, it goes without saying, that if someone was ever to find themselves inside an Arkham Asylum, they'd best hope it to be the one in Gotham. At least there one might have the chance, albeit a slim one, of only going half insane. Not that you could hear the wailings of patients like in asylums of old. No, Morrow had ensured all of the 'patient rooms' were well soundproofed and secured by the best systems, both human and mystic. And while Stonebride Mental Hospital appeared more than slightly rundown on the outside, inside was a very different story.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Doctor Vincent Morrow, occult physician, leaned back in his chair and pushed the magnifying attachment of his oculus out of the way. The tentacle object that he'd retrieved from around his ankle and subsequently 'smuggled' back with him, lay unmoving on the desk and thus far seemed loath to give up many of its secrets. Tiredly, he rubbed a hand down his forehead and eyes and reached across for his coffee mug, it was empty. Fucksake… he swore internally.

"Eric, I need coffee," he called out and started to wait impatiently. He drummed his fingers atop the workbench, one, two, three, four… one, two, three, four… "Eric, I need coffee!" Morrow grumbled again; slightly louder this time. One, two, three, four… one, two, three, four… "Eric!"

It was only after a few more minutes of waiting, that Dr Morrow bothered to look up and take stock of the situation; infuriated that his paramedic, come assistant, receptionist, monster handler and apparently now coffee fetcher, had failed to materialise. He was locked inside his lab, which was both bolted physically and magically. Even if his voice had somehow escaped and found its way to the man some floors below, Mr Gast would have been quite unable to fulfil the task of refreshing his coffee mug.

"Fine, I'll get it myself," Morrow yelled bitterly and got up stiffly to refill the mug from the pot on the other side of his office.

Sipping the steaming black liquid, the Doctor leaned back against his bookcase and considered his latest specimen. There was a residual trace of demonic energy, but the tentacle itself seemed to have lost its shadowy appearance in its disconnect from the main creature. It was inorganic; a telescoping metal of some kind, three inches in diameter, terminating in three single-jointed pincers. The cut the girl had made through it was clean and seemed to have melted the metal where her scythe had come into contact with it. Ohhhh that scythe… no one thing at a time. She was right about one thing at least, he mused, considering the girl for another moment. It doesn't seem to be armour. Not if the electrical cables inside are any evidence. Apart from that, he couldn't make heads nor tails of this. Pulling another reference book from the shelf he opened it and flicked through it as he drank. Nothing again… dammit.

Glancing at the clock over his desk he frowned, it was nearly 2 pm; he'd not slept since the previous night. Four hours he had been at this, ever since he had finally managed to stabilise his patient and feed Penny. How else could he try and figure out what on earth, or wherever it had come from, this thing was? He'd already tried the normal avenues; scrutinizing it under the oculus, leafing through his beasteries and necrocomicoms, slicing off samples and exposing them to different chemicals and wavelengths of light. What else could he do? What am I missing...

... 2:30 pm. Downing the last bitter dregs of his coffee, he shoved the book back and then put the mug down beside the pot. Pulling his lab coat on, he snatched up the tendril and left his office, heading back along the hall and down the stairs.

He paused at a door halfway along his route, etched with runes that glowed in the light. Running a hand over the marks, he checked for any degradation. Finding none, he pressed his ear against the door and could hear Penny snoring inside. He counted respirations a moment, then silently opened the view panel to look at her. She lay on her bed, dressed only in a fresh gown and curled onto her side. Her blankets were askew but her expression was restful and innocent; asleep. Closing the panel, he then tentatively checked the door handle. It twisted a little then clicked; locked. Good. He continued towards the procedure room.

Easing the double doors open, Morrow surveyed the scene, his other specimen was still unconscious; strapped down and covered, just as he had left her. His eyes lingered on the monitor displaying her vitals; stable. The scrying mirror showing her metaphysical vitals were less stable than he'd have liked, but much better than during the night and trending towards what he assumed was normal for…whatever she was.

Gast was in the chair just outside the light of the OR lamp and the protection circle etched across the floor, a book on his chest as he napped. So much for keeping an eye on our patient. It seemed that the good Doctor was the only one not catching some Zs.

Morrow moved into the pool of light and held the palm of his hand above her forehead, still warm. He then placed his palm onto her forehead properly, his mouth remaining a thin; grim line. Still slightly warm physically too, but the fevers were no longer spiking and certainly better than a few hours ago on both counts.

He watched her sleep for a few seconds longer then pulled his stethoscope from his lab coat and listened to her heart a moment before adjusting the flow in her IVs and the oxygen tank, he then moved towards his assistant.

Folding his arms Morrow tilted his head slightly and watched Eric snore. Quietly he counted respirations then stepped forward and cautiously, put a hand on the other man's shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. He withdrew his hand immediately, thinking back to the first time he'd tried to wake the man roughly and the near dislocation of his left elbow he had received for his trouble. "Eric."

The paramedic tensed, his eyes snapping open, but relaxed when he saw Morrow leaning over him. A feat few had mastered. However, when you'd had the man's anesthesiologist do the same… the doctor became a far less intimidating prospect.

"I... fell asleep…" Gast muttered, and coughed, grimacing slightly, before pushing his glasses up to rub his eyes.

"Clearly. How are the ribs? Any trouble breathing?"

"No, I already told you, I was just winded, not injured."

"Sure." He held the stethoscope up as if in question.

Eric rolled his eyes but nodded, sitting upright and allowing the doctor access. Quietly he breathed while Morrow listened. Finally when he was satisfied Morrow withdrew and asked. "How's the head? Any dizziness or nausea?"

"Nope."

"And the leg?" Morrow asked.

"Fine," Eric said, turning to look at him.

"And the back?"

"Also fine," Gast reapplied irritably. It wasn't, after all, as if he had been the only one the creature's claws had scratched. Something the Doctor was quick to remind him of when he had been handed a lot of garlic supplements and told to drop his pants for the penicillin shot. "How about yours?"

Morrow smirked slightly. "Fine," he responded in kind, then looked back at the girl. "Has our specimen regained consciousness at all?"

"No," Eric said again, the annoyance clear in his tone at the doctor's word choice. "Our Patient hasn't woken up much. Once she said she was thirsty but she was out of it again by the time I had poured some water and then just mumbled in her sleep. Nothing I could make out though." The paramedic ran his hand through his hair. "She said something about, 'the void,' but beats me if I know what that means."

"You're using the term she rather than it in an attempt to have me see her as a person." Morrow commented conversationally. "She isn't human Eric, she's potentially hostile too. Tell me you didn't loosen any of the restraints?"

"No. I didn't."

"…and we are assuming she is a she of course." Was Morrow's only response.

Eric frowned but didn't comment. He got up and stretched, hands-on his lower lumbar region, grimacing slightly as he did so. "How's Penny?" he asked mid-stretch.

"Sleeping," Morrow responded and then added, "I examined her and treated the burns then gave her half a vampire and some gremlins before I went to my office. Physically she will be fine. I want to keep a check on her heart rate just in case. She will need to rest for a few days. I'll check her over again tomorrow." He paused for a moment, feeling somewhat the occult physician equivalent of demasculinized, then asked, "you still got that friend at the cybernetics thing?"

Eric looked mildly surprised. "Drew? yeah but it's not a cybernetics thing. He's a Cyberneticist and engineering professor at the university. The actual university, not the invisible, unseen one you like to frequent and annoy." He frowned suspiciously, "why?"

Picking up the tendril from the instrument tray he had left it on, Morrow tossed it to the paramedic.

Eric immediately grabbed the thing being tossed at him, catching it in both hands. "What is…"

Quick reflexes despite his sleep-deprived state. "That's why. I need someone with some knowledge of the field to look at that thing and tell me what the hell it is. Don't worry, it's inert now, or at least I'm ninety-per cent sure it's inert."

Eric for his part stared stunned down at the tendril and then held it out at arms length as though he were afraid it would bite him, despite Morrow's assurance. He'd been on the wrong end of the man's 'ninety-per cent sure' one time too many… like the snapping fungus fiasco. "Is this what I think it is? Where the hell did you even get this?"

"Yes, and yes it's from the creatures. It was wrapped around my ankle. She cut it off, remember?" he asked, indicating their sleeping specimen with a backwards jerk of his head. "So, I brought it along."

Eric glowered at the dark-haired man.

"Don't look at me like that," Morrow replied defensively. "I couldn't just ignore the thing, not after it attacked us and we could do nothing to stop it. Look what it did to Penny! Not to mention there are others. We need to know what it is, before we can stop it. Only it's not organic…" it was a struggle for him to say, "...or anything I'm familiar with. It seems like it's robotic; man-made. I thought your buddy might be able to shed some light onto it for us."

Eric looked down at the thing. "Man-made? You mean it isn't...like a creature?"

"It is a creature, just not a biological one… or at least the bit we've got is not biological..." Morrow paused again, the words almost catching in his throat, "...I need a second opinion."

"Wow…" Eric said, crossing his arms. "That was really hard for you wasn't it? Why not the future Ex-Mrs Morrow? She might know something," he said, hardly bothering to conceal the grin on his face.

"No," Morrow replied firmly, "out of the question. Besides, she's a pathologist who specialises in necromancy. This thing is mechanical, ergo never alive, which means she can't tell us anything about how it died or resurrect it, so she's no use to us."

"Fine, don't have a kitten… or should that be a Cat?"

"You're not funny."

"So, you want me to ask Drew? I mean I could call him…"

"If I'd wanted you to call him, I'd have said call him," Morrow said brusquely. "I want you to take it to him, convince him to examine it asap, by which I mean right now and then bring it back; hopefully with some answers."

"You want me to go now?" Eric asked slightly taken aback.

Sarcasm dripped from Morrow's words when he said, "well, we could wait for them to track us down and kill us before we ask him. Yes, now."

"What about her...what about Penny? About you?" the blonde man insisted.

"Penny is fed and asleep, I'm fine and she's asleep."

"What if she wakes up?" Eric asked

"Pffft I'm pretty sure I can deal with a teenager… "

Eric crossed his arms again and raised both his eyebrows," what happened to potentially hostile and you are assuming she is a teenager of course."

Waving a hand dismissively Morrow said "Regardless of what it is, it is in a teenager's body. A teenager's body riddled with broken bones and half healed injuries." He did not wait for an answer before moving on. "Look, I've got it covered, alright. Besides, she's restrained as much as possible…I'll just observe her for a while, make some notes and maybe do some minor tests. "

"Fine, but don't do anything stupid till I get back," Eric said as if he had read the doctors mind. Wrapping the tendril in some sterile towels, he paused to watch Morrow take up his place in the chair and shook his head. He supposed he should have been furious with the Doc for getting a sample when there were people in need, but he would have been a fool to expect anything less from the man. He felt a smile curve the corners of his mouth and shook his head. What was he going to do with him? Force him to take social etiquette classes? Make up a set of emotional and situational reaction flashcards? Actually, that last one had some merit. He would think about it while he drove he decided and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialling as he left the procedure room. The least he could do was the polite thing and tell Drew he was on his way to visit.

Morrow turned his head as the door closed, there went one specimen, hopefully, when it came back he'd have some answers, or at the very least, an idea of where to find them. In the meantime, he had another with just as many questions. He turned back to watch the form of the girl and leaning back in the chair, put his feet up on the cabinet nearest to him. Steepling his gloved fingers, he pressed them against his mouth to wait, now then, what exactly are you?