Scratchansniff hadn't exactly lied when he had told Hello Nurse that Dr. Magenta wanted to see him. He had received a voicemail from the scientist, telling him to come quickly to Acme Labs. He had discovered something about the sample he had taken from the taser that had to be seen immediately. Most importantly, it meant Scratchansniff didn't have to go with Hello Nurse to the Warner Brothers water tower.

Scratchansniff wasn't alone on his short trip to Acme Labs. Pesto sat in the passenger seat of the car like a human being, complaining about Scratchansniff's radio presets on his car. The pigeon was really starting to drive his patience. He wasn't being particularly helpful with the investigation.

"Hey doc, who's this Magenta punk anyways?" Pesto asked, pecking at a loose thread on the passenger seat.

"Ah, well, he's a scientist at Acme Labs," Scratchansniff answered, "I met him a few months ago when I caught him snooping around the studio after dark. He's been researching the half-toons to find out their origin ever since."

Pesto scratched his chin with his claws, "How'd he know about those freaks?"

"He said he heard the rumors about them and decided to investigate them himself. I got involved because I have seen them many times before."

"And you haven't seen Bobby and Squit?"

"Sadly, no. I am honestly not sure if their disappearance and the half-toons are connected."

Pesto fell silent and leaned back against the seat. He let out a frustrated groan, "I'm gonna pummel them both when I find them."

Eventually, they arrived at Acme Labs. Scratchansniff parked the car and entered the labs with Pesto following close behind. When they entered, Brian Magenta was standing in the lobby, speaking to another scientist. He waved them over.

"You've finally arrived." He said, immediately gesturing them to follow him, "I've got results much quicker than I thought. You must see them." He suddenly noticed the pigeon following Scratchansniff and wrinkled his nose, "And what is this rat with wings doing here?"

"Rat with wings?!" Pesto screeched. Scratchansniff grabbed him and held him down to stop him from attacking Brian.

"Dr. Magenta, Pesto. Pesto, Dr. Magenta." The psychiatrist chuckled nervously, "Pesto is looking for his missing pals and ah... Wanted to help us in the investigation."

Pesto continued to scream, "You think I'm some kind of flying rodent here for your entertainment?! Is that what you think?!"

Scratchansniff put his hand over the pigeon's beak to keep him from shrieking. Still holding Pesto, Scratchansniff followed Brian to a room in the back. They entered a large lab, full of varying scientific tools, computers, and other unidentifiable materials and machines. Brian went over to a computer and started it up. For a while, he waited for it to boot up. Suddenly, it sparked and smoked. Brian panicked and quickly unplugged it to stop it from catching fire. He scratched his head in confusion.

"That's strange." He said, "It was just working a moment ago. It must have overheated." He turned to Scratchansniff, pulling out a torn notebook, "No matter, I also wrote my studies down in case this happened. Come with me."

The three went towards the back of the lab. In a reinforced glass container laid the blue crystals, presumably taken from Hello Nurse's taser. It may have been his imagination, but Scratchansniff swore the crystals had grown bigger.

Pesto managed to pry his beak from Scratchansniff's hold, "What is that?"

"This, from what my research can conclude," Brian began, "Is an unidentified mineral unlike any known on Earth. It is highly radioactive, solidifies quickly at room temperature, cannot be melted, frozen, electrocuted, crushed, or destroyed in any other manner. It also contains DNA of an unidentified toon. Strangely enough, I could not find any trace of the original human's DNA, as if it had been wiped by the crystals."

Scratchansniff listened and nodded, "But what is it?"

"That... Is hard to answer." Said Brian, scratching his chin, "It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It is incredibly hard to work with and dangerous. This is why it's locked behind a reinforced glass case. However, if I am to put forth a hypothesis..." He looked over the case carefully, "Judging from what we've seen of those half-toons, the blue crystals seem to serve as a catalyst. It generates so much energy that it is able to keep the two parts together while also supplying the human body the needed energy to perform the actions of a toon. After all, humans would need enough energy to break the laws of physics to achieve what a toon can achieve."

Scratchansniff stepped closer, though he was still wary of getting too close to the glass case, "So the biggest question now is... Why?"

Brian spoke again, "I may have another hypothesis for that. I believe that whoever or whatever is doing this is most certainly a toon. The scientific exactness of the half-toons wouldn't be achievable by even the most skilled human scientist. A toon may be attempting to use human vessels to circumvent the Law of Comedy."

Pesto suddenly perked up, "Oh! That's something I know! It's to keep us toons in line, ain't it?"

"Indeed." Brian replied, "The Law of Comedy was created by the animators of old in order to keep the toons from abusing their other worldly powers. Essentially, they can only achieve the impossible when it is comedic. A toon can not produce an expensive sports car whenever he or she wants. However, they can produce an expensive sports car to make a quick getaway from a villain chasing them. They can break the laws of logic and physics as long as the end result is humorous. However... These half-toons offer up a... Frightening conclusion as to what their creator is attempting to accomplish."

Brian drew a heavy sigh and continued, "As you know, humans are not limited by the Law of Comedy. Instead, they are limited by the laws of physics. Gravity, space, time, mathematic relations. Humans can do anything as long as it does not break the laws of physics or potentially kills them. So what happens when you have a hybrid of a human and toon?"

Scratchansniff and Pesto exchanged concerned glances.

"You get a nightmarish, Lovecraftian abomination that follows no rules." Brian concluded, his gaze serious and frightening, "I believe that is the plan of the madman behind all this. Though as of now, we still have time to stop them. The half-toons in their current state can hardly hold themselves together. If the creator starts to improve the transformation process..."

"Then we need to figure out who's behind this and quickly!" Scratchansniff blurted out.

Brian gave a tired sigh, "Unfortunately, the studies I conducted on the sample proved inconclusive for its origin."

As the two spoke, Pesto hopped up on Scratchansniff's head. He glanced over to the computer that had malfunctioned and saw it was still sparking. Didn't Brian unplug it? Pesto gulped as the monitor on the desk began to shake. It started off small, but grew to such extents that the monitor fell of the desk and shattered the screen. This got Scratchansniff and Brian's attention.

"What in the world?" Brian demanded as he strutted back over to the damaged monitor.

Pesto exclaimed while flying about erratically, "That thing was shakin'! It fell off on its own!"

"Didn't you just unplug that, Dr. Magenta?" Asked Scratchansniff.

Brian nodded as he investigated the monitor closer, "I most certainly did. This is... Most unusual."

The lights started to flicker. Pesto jumped off Scratchansniff's head and screeched, "What's goin' on with the lights?!"

Brian carefully picked up wires connecting to the computer monitor. He seemed perplexed by it and the flickering lights, "Our electricity comes straight from a nearby power plant to prevent outages. This is most odd indeed."

The lights flickered again. Suddenly, all the machines roared to life, filling the lab with a loud mechanical humming noise. The lights went out as the humming continued, growing louder and louder by the second.

"What's going on?!" Brian yelled, his usual monotone voice betraying his panic, "If this is some sort of insolent prank, you best not try to- ACK! AHHH!"

Brian suddenly let out a blood curdling scream before cutting off abruptly. Scratchansniff and Pesto both screamed in fright, unsure of what was going on. The lights flickered back on. Brian was still standing in the same spot, but the computer wires had wrapped themselves around him tightly. Several wires were firmly over his mouth, gagging him. More wires came out of the broken monitor, like agitated snakes. The other computers began to shake and dispel more seemingly sentient wires from every single port.

Scratchansniff and Pesto let out panicked screams as the wires came towards them. A disembodied voice laughed maniacally, echoing through the laboratory. A ghostly form manifested above Brian, sparking with electricity. The form was glowing pink and appeared animalistic, though it was difficult to make out any other details. The form was blurry and moved like TV static, making it hard to distinguish any other features. It gave a chilling laugh, the voice distinctly young and female.

"So, you think you can meddle in our business?" The ghost spoke, a maniacal edge to her voice, "Ha! I'll fry you punks to a crisp!"

Scratchansniff swallowed hard and spoke, "W-w-who are you?! W-w-what are you?!"

The ghostly apparition laughed, "You think I'm gonna reveal that so easily? Forget it Scratchy! You boys are poking your nose in my business. And I'm afraid..." She paused and giggled evilly, "That I'm going to have to kill you for it!"

Scratchansniff only had a moment to think. Scratchy? I've only been called that by the-

He was interrupted as the wires came towards him and Pesto. They both screeched in fear and took off running towards the back of the lab. Brian was still struggling to get out of the wires. He managed to get his teeth around one of them and bite through them. He called out to the retreating psychiatrist and pigeon.

"Scratchansniff! Pesto! Shut off the main power to the building! It's in the basement by the-! Mmph!"

Another wire lashed itself around his mouth. The ghostly apparition floated over him and snarled.

"Keep quiet you! I'm running the show now!" She turned to Scratchansniff and Pesto, a cruel smile barely visible through the static, "Now, you two. I'm feeling like roast pigeon and pee-sychiatrist!"

Scratchansniff and Pesto screamed and ran for the door at the back of the lab. They escaped and slammed it behind him, stopping the advance of the wires.

"Whadda we do?! Whadda we do?!" Pesto panicked, "What was that thing?! What?! Ahhh!"

Scratchansniff breathed hard, barricading the door with a nearby chair, "Brian said something about the basement and shutting off the main power. We need to get there and fast!"

"Screw that! I'm getting out of here!" Pesto started to fly away, but Scratchansniff grabbed him by the tail feathers and pulled him back.

"Oh no you don't!" Scratchansniff scolded the pigeon, "You said you were here to help! And you're going to help me!"

Pesto snarled, "Fine fine! Whatever! But if I end up roasted, it'll be your-!"

The ghost suddenly popped out of the wall right behind them, "Peekaboo!"

"AHHHHH!" Scratchansniff and Pesto squealed and bolted in the opposite direction. The ghost gave chase, her laughs causing the lights to flicker ominously.