Claudia checked the back of the monitor then opened up a small panel in the back. She glanced inside the unit- there was blackening around the side of the power pack. So-it is damaged, just like he said. Claudia glanced over to the expecting painting. "Yeah- ok there's some damage." The painting nodded in satisfaction. She went back and retrieved some tools. She would have to use some parts from the other monitors to fix this one.

"So- you uh- can see everything that happens?" she said as she worked.

"In front of me jes."

"And you remember everything?"

"Jes."

"Everything?"

"Jes"

She thought for a second. "That must be really boring."

"Not so much. I am a painting. I know zis. I was given neither ego nor ambition. But I was given my home at least. Ze tings zat I see, they become part of me and my home."

Claudia looked over her shoulder to see the portrait glancing over his. In the background was a room that strongly resembled the rows of the warehouse. A few of the artifacts were loosely represented there as incomplete or fuzzy objects. The back doorway led to a hallway and yet more rooms. Outside the windows was a lovely view of what she supposed must be the French country side.

"Hu! That um…." She grunted with effort as the old unit slid free. "That looks nice."

He smiled. "It is."

"Is that the warehouse in there?"

"Part of it. Ze purple fog has kept most of the artifacts from fully materializing in here. I expect that a few may be completed now zat I can see."

"Oh." Claudia wasn't sure that she should tell him that the purple fog would come back as soon as Artie fixed the clog, as in any minute.

In short time Claudia replaced the unit and welded in the electrical connectors. She readdressed the painting. "So! Um… I'm sorry- what should I call you?"

"Pierre will be fine." He slightly bowed. The effect was a little three dimensional as he bowed towards the frame and Claudia and the rest of the outside world.

"Pierre. Claudia." She didn't want to get too friendly, but wanted some information. "So Pierre, tell me more about the lightning. Where did it go exactly?" She jumped nearly out of her skin when Pierre did something completely unexpected. He stood up.

Claudia watched the man get smaller as he walked to the back of his room to the replica warehouse rows. "Whoa…"

"I see some burn marks." He examined the little shelves in the painting. "Here, by the yo-yo, on the corner. Can you see this Claudia!" he raised his voice to make it out of the picture.

"Yes!" Claudia's head was close to the picture to see the little shelves in the background. It was a little difficult to make out details because the whole scene was only as accurate as the painter's brush. Pierre's little form kept making the strokes of color shift and move as he walked.

"Ok let me check!" She went over to the actual shelf represented in the painting. She moved past the artifacts that she saw in the painting, and found the yo-yo.

She ran her hands over the metal supports of the shelves and found the electrical discharge burn mark.

"Found it!" she hollered.

Just then an annoying buzzing started. She fumbled to get her Farnsworth out of her custom pack at her side.

"Yeah! Hello?" she said. A grey and white picture of Artie's face appeared.

"Hey." There was an awkward pause. "How's it going?"

"Fine!" Claudia shot a glance at the painting who she knew she shouldn't be talking to.

"Um- just fine! Installing displays and taking names!"

"That's great. Um… you haven't heard anything unusual have you?" Artie seemed more distracted than usual.

"Unusual?" Claudia thought. The word unusual took on a new meaning since she started at the warehouse. "There was this one artifact that yelled at me- but apparently that's because I have red hair. And then a chair was singing, I guess that's normal too…"

"Ok, ok! Um… no buzzing?"

"Buzzing, like the Farnsworth?"

"No…. no- like um…. Like large insects." Claudia could tell that Artie was hiding something. Usually when Artie hid something it was something bad.

"Insects? Like bees? Or Wasps? Artie do we have wasps?"

"What? No no no… no wasps, at least I don't think we have wasps- mosquitoes m… maybe…" his voice trailed off as he scanned the ceiling of the warehouse.

"Artie? Are you ok?"

"What? Yeah… Yeah. Ok- I just wanted to check in. Keep me posted." The screen went black abruptly.

(Elsewhere)

Artie snapped the Farnsworth closed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that he had to get that neutralizer flowing again. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he kept the neutralizer off for much longer. Artie took another nervous glance around. He cautiously grabbed the ladder and climbed back onto it.

As he worked, Artie tried to keep an eye out for trouble. What he didn't see was a slender, green feeding tube silently extend a few shelves below him. It reached the discarded drop of blood and dipped it's sharp tip in. It sipped up the drop and funneled it down it's length. The tube then withdrew, coiling up on its self like a phone cord.

A green vine extended toward the only heat source that it sensed. It curled along different hard items that it came across but continued toward the heat. Heat meant something living. Heat meant food. It brushed a light object which slid. The heat moved suddenly and the vine froze. After a moment, the vine sensed that the heat returned to normal movements. Part of the heat was hidden inside of a pipe.

Powered by the small drop of blood, the vine now had a little energy to invest in getting more. It was joined by two others. They were given the order. In unison they slid across the aisle towards the heat.

(Back to Claudia)

Claudia snapped her Farnsworth closed and thought hard.

"Claudia!" Pierre called.

"Yeah…" Something was bothering her. She hated when Artie got distracted like that. Last time that happened he suddenly sent Pete and Myka to Azerbajian. She reached a decision.

"Pierre- I'll be right back." She put a few tools into her pack for safe keeping. "Um… can you keep an eye on things?"

Pierre smiled. "Jes. It is what I do."

"Okay. Ok! Great!" She looked around again and grabbed a tool that she deemed a little too dangerous and stuffed that in her bag then left it all on the floor. "I'll be right back!" She turned and left for the Artie's section.