After getting thrown out of the studio, Hello Nurse, Scratchansniff, Brian, and Pesto were left to wander the streets. Pesto muttered angry words under his breath as he strutted along beside them, still unable to fly with his damaged wing.
"I hope the Warners go after that Plotz next!" He growled, "The nerve of that guy, treating us like that!"
Scratchansniff sighed, "Mr. Plotz really fired me... Perhaps we should just accept that we won't be solving this."
"You're just giving up like that?" Hello Nurse asked him, "We know who's behind this. We just need to get proof, that's it!"
Brian sighed, "We have to infiltrate that underground lair as soon as possible." He turned to them, stopping in his tracks, "But first, we have to put together a plan. I suggest we go back to Acme Labs and utilize what it has to offer."
"Yeah, let's get back!" Pesto said, jumping up and down, "The longer we wait, the longer my pals gotta sit in that jail cell!"
Hello Nurse and Scratchansniff both nodded in agreement. They decided to take the walk a few blocks over to Acme Labs. It seemed now that the area was actively being patrolled by police. The lab itself it had been closed down until the damages from the previous night could be fixed. Once a nearby cop car passed by and out of sight, Brian produced a key from his coat pocket and unlocked the front door to the lab. When they were in, he tried to turn the lights on, but nothing responded.
"Ah, the main power is still off." Brian concluded, "I'll be right back. I'll meet you three in lab 5. It's towards the back."
He headed off to the basement. Hello Nurse, Scratchansniff, and Pesto went to lab 5 in the meantime. As they did, they saw the damages from the other night. Long burn marks lined the walls. Scratches and tears marked the walls and floors. Some of the fluorescent lights above had burst and scattered dangerous glass shards on the floor. Hello Nurse picked up Pesto so he wouldn't cut his feet on the glass. They found lab 5 at the end of the hall and entered inside.
The destruction inside the lab was even more so. Computer monitors laid scattered about, their screens shattered and exposing wires and circuit board. Most everything was in piece and on the floor. Some dangerous chemicals still smoked in the corner of the room. They took care to stay far away from it.
"What exactly happened here last night?" Hello Nurse asked.
"Well, that apparition-" Scratchansniff started.
"Dot Warner." Pesto corrected him, "That ghost freak is Dot Warner."
"Right, Dot Warner." Scratchansniff said, "She possessed one of those computers and used them to attack us."
"But... Why is she a ghost?" Hello Nurse asked, studying the destruction of the room.
"How should we know?" Pesto shot back, "We were too busy running away!"
Hello Nurse continued looking around, careful to step around the glass shards and loose wires. One of the computers was still in tact and sitting on the desk. She picked up the chair that had been knocked over and sat down. As she did, the electricity came back on, lighting the room and turning on the few machines that were undamaged. That including the computer right in front of her. It switched on and bathed her in the start up screen, waiting for input.
Scratchansniff and Pesto busied themselves investigating the damages. Hello Nurse decided to utilize the computer. Something had been on her mind since Plotz had conveniently shown up to take Nora's place. She pulled up the internet browser and started typing away.
Thaddeus... Plotz... Warner Brothers CEO...
Hello Nurse pressed enter and began searching through the results. Most spoke about Plotz' success as the CEO, along with a few scandals that had happened while he led the studio. Then the more recent articles spoke about his retirement back in the year 2000.
However, one from 1999 in particular caught Hello Nurse's eye:
"THADDEUS PLOTZ: A MENTALLY UNFIT EXECUTIVE?"
Hello Nurse raised an eyebrow. What was this referring to? She clicked the article and read through it.
"Warner Brothers CEO Thaddeus Plotz allegedly collapsed in the middle of a meeting and was rushed to the hospital. It is unknown just what was ailing him, but when he returned, fellow coworkers complained about his short term memory loss, changed personality, and inability to carry through most business tasks. The other executives at the studio arranged to have Plotz take a forced retirement. What will come of this decision has yet to be seen."
As she read, Hello Nurse's brow furrowed more. Since when had Plotz been forcefully ejected from the studio for mental sickness? He seemed just fine when she spoke to him: better than he had ever been before. None of the other articles she read alluded to any of this. This one seemed sensationalized and lacking in any sources.
And yet...
Something about it continued to nag at her, telling her that it held some weight.
"Ms. Nurse? Are you alright?" Scratchansniff asked her. He had walked past her and noticed her making faces at the computer screen.
Hello Nurse turned to him, "I was just reading about Mr. Plotz. I was curious why he first left."
"Well, he was getting old," Scratchansniff said, "He retired, just like anyone else would."
"Yes but..." Hello Nurse rubbed her head, "There's something not adding up. Plotz was old when he retired. You'd think he would have some kind of health complications by now, but he seems even better than when he worked at the studio. It doesn't sit right with me."
Pesto strutted over to them, growing interested in the conversation, "What you gettin' at?"
"I'm saying..." Hello Nurse continued, "That his time alive isn't adding up. I only found one article speaking about him having health complications. How is he so healthy when he should be nearing one hundred years old by now? I know it's not impossible, but... He looks even better than he did twenty years ago. Doesn't that come off as strange to both of you?"
Scratchansniff and Pesto both shared glances, seemingly trying to connect what Hello Nurse had told them.
"Now that you mention it..." Scratchansniff began, "It does seem unlikely."
"Something about him gave me the heebie-jeebies." Pesto added, shuddering his feathers, "I didn't like him. Not one bit!"
Just then, Brian entered the room. He sensed the tension in the room and stared at the other three with confusion.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked as he came over to them.
"We think there's something off about Mr. Plotz." Hello Nurse explained, "I don't know if it's connected to the half-toons, but..."
"You can't say it ain't fishy!" Pesto finished for her.
Brian nodded, "And I agree."
Scratchansniff seemed shocked that Brian agreed so quickly with them, "You think it's strange too, Dr. Magenta?"
"I know it's strange." Brian replied as he came over to them, moving aside a bunch of damaged junk on one of the desks. He turned to them, as stoic as ever, "There's no denying that Thaddeus' sudden return to the studio, followed by him immediately kicking us out is suspicious. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we'll be unable to get any closer to him to find out what it is that he's hiding. Instead, let's focus on what we do know."
Brian took a piece of paper and started drawing a crude map of the studio. Pesto hopped up on the desk and watched him carefully.
"Pesto, tell me again, where did you find that entrance?" Brian stared at him.
Pesto racked his brain for a moment, "It was... On the north side of the studio. Where they have those buildings all falling apart. It was one of those sound stages. But... I don't remember which one."
"That's fine, it's enough to work with." Brian replied as he sketched out the north side of the studio. He then turned to Hello Nurse, "And Ms. Nurse, when you went to the water tower, you said you saw something strange?"
Hello Nurse nodded, "Yakko had the refrigerator chained up. He claimed it was to stop his brother from snacking at night. But it seemed far too strange to me."
Brian sketched out the water tower, circling it with a red pen, "We know of at least one entrance to the underground lair. And I have a feeling that the Warners have an entrance from the water tower as well. Pesto, what can you tell me about those underground corridors you were in?"
"Well..." Pesto paused as he tried to remember everything, "I didn't get very far in, but it looked like old storage space for movie props. There were also pipes and electrical wires... And the door to that dungeon my friends were in. That's as far as I got."
Brian nodded as he took a blue pen and traced a tunnel underneath some of the sound stages on the east side, "I hypothesize that the Warners may have taken over old maintenance tunnels and storage basements that the studio no longer uses. In that case, there is a big chance that the place could be a maze connecting both old and new tunnels. It will likely be very, very dangerous."
Scratchansniff let out a small, fearful squeak.
"So what should we do?" Hello Nurse asked.
"Considering how radioactive the half-toons are, we shouldn't go in without a hazmat suit." Brian warned, "The place is likely overloaded with radiation. We should also bring something for self defense." Brian went to a closet and grabbed three hazmat suits. He also grabbed a handful of other objects: magnets, Geiger counters, oxygen tanks, what appeared to be tasers, and strangely of all, baseball bats. He gave one of each to Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse, while he gave himself a kit filled with various science tools.
"Hey, what about me?" Pesto demanded.
Brian glanced at him. He suddenly picked him up.
"Hey!" Pesto roared, "What's going on?! Put me down!"
Brian taped a radio to Pesto, small enough that it wouldn't weigh him down, "You'll be our lookout. You'll make sure that no studio security comes our way. You'll also be our last hope if something goes-..." He trailed off, "But hopefully we won't need that. We'll be in and out in no time." He then gave radios to Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse, "Here is my plan, I'll go with Pesto into the known entrance. Meanwhile, I want you both to investigate the water tower. Make sure you bring everything in case you manage to get in. Pesto and I will be in contact the entire time."
"And what if we get in trouble?" Scratchansniff asked, "Who will Pesto go for help?"
They were silent for a moment. That was one thing they hadn't accounted for.
"I know someone." Hello Nurse suddenly spoke, "Slappy. Slappy Squirrel."
Brian raised an eyebrow, "That unhinged old hag?"
"Pesto said that Skippy had been captured by the Warners as well." Hello Nurse explained, "If Pesto explained that to Slappy, she would likely come to save us. Wouldn't she?"
Scratchansniff grimaced, "Ms. Squirrel is not exactly the most charitable of toons."
"But she does care about her nephew." Hello Nurse argued, "I know she does. She wouldn't have thrown me out when I mentioned him. That's why she was upset."
"She is also a very strong ally as far as toons go." Brian agreed, "She knows every trick in the book. If anyone could outsmart the Warners, it would be her. But because she's such a loose canon, we'll only enlist her help for emergencies."
"Speaking of..." Scratchansniff spoke up, "What about the Warners? What if we run into them?"
Brian held the taser and the baseball bat in both hands, "Why do you think I gave you these? We know the tasers work on the half-toons at least briefly. And most toons will be briefly stunned with a quick hit on the head."
"Don't worry Scratchansniff." Hello Nurse assured him, "I've taken kickboxing classes as well. We'll be fine."
This seemed to allay some of Scratchansniff's concerns, but he was still clearly worried.
"Are we clear on the plan?" Brian asked, "We'll enter the underground lair and gather any evidence we can. Then we'll get out as quickly as we can. Pesto will be our lookout and will go to Slappy if any complications arise."
Hello Nurse, Scratchansniff, and Pesto all nodded, understanding the plan.
"Wait," Pesto interrupted, "What about my friends?"
Brian shook his head, glaring at Pesto, "We can't worry about them. We have to get evidence first. We don't have the resources to save them all."
Pesto tried to argue, "But-!"
Brian cut him off, "Do you wish to fight the Warners yourself?"
Pesto fell silent, looking away.
"Good." Brian said. He turned back to Hello Nurse and Scratchansniff, cracking a small smile, "We will meet outside the studio at eleven pm tonight. Sharp. Come prepared. Get adequate rest. This won't be easy, but lives are depending on us."