Acme Labs was only a couple blocks away. Once Hello Nurse had cleaned Pesto's wounds and bandaged him up, she carried him along with her to the laboratory. From a distance, they saw the flashing lights of ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks surrounding the entrance of the labs. A small crowd of curious onlookers had gathered on the edge of the police tape to see what was going on.
On the back of one of the ambulances sat Dr. Magenta. He was being bandaged up for unknown injuries, but he appeared to be fine otherwise. Scratchansniff was nearby, waiting patiently. He had apparently lost his coat and had taken a spare shirt from someone else. He looked up when he saw Hello Nurse and Pesto standing at the police tape.
"Oh, Ms. Nurse!" He called out, "And Pesto! You found Pesto!"
The psychiatrist ran over to the ex-nurse and hugged her. He seemed overjoyed to see her. Pesto was squished between them both as he wheezed for air.
"Ack...! Help...!" The pigeon croaked.
Scratchansniff let her go and breathed a heavy sigh, "You will not believe the craziness that's gone on here! I am so glad to see you!"
"Pesto told me everything." Hello Nurse said, "Are you both okay?"
"I'm okay." Scratchansniff nodded, though he was clearly still shaken up, "Dr. Magenta was hurt, but I think he'll be okay."
As the two spoke, a team of firemen and police officers came through the front doors. They were carrying what appeared to be a huge industrial sized computer, though it seemed to have shorted out and caught fire. A massive gap in the front exposed lose wires and broken fans. A small scrap of Scratchansniff's white coat hung on the edge of one of the fans, burnt and shredded to pieces.
Scratchansniff shivered, "That could have been me!"
Pesto suddenly hopped up on Hello Nurse's shoulder, "Doc, you won't believe what I found out. I know who that ghost girl was!"
Hello Nurse nodded in agreement, "Pesto's got something very important to tell you both. I think you'll find it worth your while."
Once the EMTs had given Brian the okay, he walked over to them both. Besides his bandages, he looked fine. The event seemed to have not shaken him as badly as Scratchansniff.
Pesto took a deep breath and told his story again. Though unlike the story he had told Hello Nurse, he greatly exaggerated his heroism. Scratchansniff and Brian listened intently, their faces both morphing into expressions of disturbance upon hearing what was being done to the imprisoned toons. When Pesto concluded, Scratchansniff spoke first.
"Goodness, I knew those kids were kooky but..." He paused, shaking his head in disbelief, "To go as far as kidnapping and torturing people?"
"He confirmed my suspicions too." Hello Nurse chimed in, "When I paid the Warners a visit, I met with Yakko. And he was acting especially strange."
She told them what she had discovered as well. Though it was considerably less than Pesto's discovery, it could still prove useful. How Yakko's siblings were mysteriously missing, his "off" behavior, his strange appearance, and the oddly chained up fridge.
Brian listened to both of their tales, but hardly said a thing. Even when they both finished, he simply rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Scratchansniff broke the silence, "So the Warners are most definitely responsible for the half-toons? Or at the very least, the creation of that strange blue crystal?"
Brian finally spoke, "If this is all true, then we have to investigate that underground lair and find evidence. It is doubtful the authorities would take the word of an anger prone pigeon."
Pesto growled, "You sayin' I'm lyin'? Huh? You saying I'm some kind of withholder of the truth?"
Brian ignored him instead to ask another question, "If you may kindly quiet down, I have another question to ask. Who were all the toons imprisoned by the Warners?"
Pesto racked his brain for a moment, "Well, there were a lot, but the ones I know? There's my pals, Bobby and Squit. Then there's those strays, Rita and Runt. Then that squirrel boy Skippy. And the mink girl Minerva. And... Oh! Pinky the lab mouse too!"
Brian's expression suddenly changed from grave to panic. Though it was only very brief before he returned to his stoic expression, "That settles it. We must investigate further on our own. If the studio executives and the authorities shan't listen to us, then we will gather proof and present it to the masses."
"Brian, there's just one thing." Hello Nurse stopped him, "The Warners now know that we're on to them. You said Dot came to kill you when you were studying that sample of blue rock? She's likely told her brothers. They'll all be on high alert for all of us."
"Their security system surely can't be that advanced if a pigeon managed to sneak in behind them." Brian sneered, "I suggest we scope out both the water tower and the sound stage. Then we can begin putting together a proper plan to infiltrate the Warner's secret lair."
Pesto stood up, shouting, "And rescue my buddies!"
"Then the first thing we should do is get back to the studio." Hello Nurse suggested, "Even without the CEO, I'm sure the executives will still have the studio up and running. We should be able to blend in with the other employees"
Everyone seemed to agree, except for Scratchansniff, who seemed hesitant.
"Perhaps I should just stay at the psychiatric office!" He suggested, his voice shaky, "I mean, what help would I be?"
Brian turned to glare at Scratchansniff, "You've treated those children before, have you not? Surely you would know their behavior better than anyone else."
"You'd be more than a valuable team member, Dr. Scratchansniff." Hello Nurse insisted, "We need all the help we can get if we're going to stop all this from happening."
"Yeah!" Pesto piped up, "Don't be a chicken, doc!"
Scratchansniff hesitated, "I am not chicken! It's just that... Those kids scare me!"
"They're only going to get scarier if we let them continue their experiments." Brian argued back, "We will simply investigate the known entrance and the suspected entrance today. Especially now that the Warners know we're on to them."
This seemed to ease Scratchansniff's fear. Once most of the police had cleared everyone to go, the group left the premises and made their way to Warner Brothers Studios a few miles away.
"You all must be exhausted." Hello Nurse stated, noticing the bags under Scratchansniff's eyes, "You've been up all night dealing with such nightmarish things. Are you sure you don't want to take the day to rest?"
"I don't need rest." Brian insisted, "I need answers."
"Yeah! Bringing these puppy kids to justice is what I wanna do!" Pesto agreed.
Scratchansniff smiled weakly, "I could do with a little nap, I won't lie-!"
Pesto suddenly interrupted them, "Hey, who's that following us?"
Their conversation had distracted them from the expensive black car quietly following behind them. The windows were tinted, making it difficult to tell who it was. Before they became too unnerved, the car pulled up next to them. The back seat window rolled down, revealing a familiar smiling face.
"Dr. Scratchansniff! Hello Nurse!" Thaddeus Plotz greeted them happily, "Fancy seeing you both here! I was just on my way to Warner Brothers. Care for a lift?"
Though Scratchansniff seemed relieved, Hello Nurse scrunched her nose. Mr. Plotz had almost seemed like... He had aged backwards? It was difficult to explain. He had started growing hair again. He had lost weight. Even some of his stress lines and wrinkles seemed to have vanished. And what was he doing in Burbank? Wasn't he a retired millionaire? He should have been in a vacation house on a fancy private beach somewhere. Yet here he was.
Scratchansniff asked the question that was on her mind, "Mr. Plotz sir? What are you doing here in Burbank?"
Plotz laughed heartily, "Ah, you won't believe it! Jump in, I'll tell you the whole story!"
The group hesitated, but decided to take up his offer and climb into the expensive black car. Once they were seated, Plotz offered them champagne, cigars, and other such rich commodities. They all declined these however, leaving Plotz to sit back and puff on his cigar.
"So, get this," Plotz started to explain, "I was in my vacation home in Florida, and I get a call from some of my old coworkers. They say they needed a replacement CEO ASAP. I flew out overnight to come take my old job back as soon as I could. And that's why I'm here. Isn't that great?"
"But sir," Scratchansniff asked, "Didn't you retire?"
"Ah, I've regretted retiring for years now." Plotz explained, "I love my job! Best job in the world!"
Hello Nurse, Scratchansniff, and Brian all exchanged confused glanced. Pesto, sitting in Hello Nurse's lap, has his feathers ruffled to maximum height. They all sensed something was off with the ex-CEO.
"By the way," Plotz continued, "What happened to the old CEO? What was her name? Ms. Norita? Was the job too much for her?" He laughed again.
Scratchansniff cringed, "About that..."
Brian cut him off, "Let's discuss this once we get back to the studio."
"And who's this young man?" Plotz asked, turning his gaze to Brian.
Brian answered promptly, "Dr. Brian Magenta: Acme Labs scientist. We have much to discuss once we return to the studio, Mr. Plotz sir. Perhaps you will be able to help us."
Plotz smiled, "I'd love to! I'm all for helping people!"
Hello Nurse and Scratchansniff exchanged glances again. The usually greedy, conniving, and inconsiderate Mr. Plotz was acting so out of character, it was almost frightening. Had being retired really changed his personality that much?
"Mr. Plotz sir..." Hello Nurse asked, "I hope this doesn't come off as rude... But you seemed to have changed... A lot."
"That's what travelling, dieting, and exercising will do to a man!" Plotz answered, laughing happily, "Oh, like the time I went to Dubai and-"
Mr. Plotz went on a tangent about his travels. None of them were really listening though. They began to wonder if Plotz was truly willingly to help him, or if he was putting on a front.