Lynn pulled up a chair and sat across from Ronak, who was strapped tightly to the hospital bed.
"So, you're saying everything you did happened because a devil possessed your body and controlled you?"
"That's right, Detective," Ronak said, his eyes full of desperate pleading as he looked at Lynn.
"A while ago, the professor and I were conducting an experiment… and the devil bit off the professor's head.
I told the officers who came to the scene, but they didn't believe me. Instead, they sent me here—to a mental hospital."
"I was so hungry after that. I couldn't eat normal food anymore. The voice in my head kept telling me I needed to eat brains to feel full."
"Then… I couldn't control myself. The devil made me—"
"Wait."
Lynn cut him off sharply. "You said you were experimenting with a professor? What professor? What kind of experiment were you doing?"
At the question, Ronak's panicked expression faltered. He hesitated, his eyes darting uneasily.
After a long pause, Ronak finally whispered, "It was an experiment on the fifth sense.
My professor was Mr. Wilson Robertson, a biology professor at New York State University."
"He devoted his life to researching the pineal gland, what he called the 'fifth sense.' He believed that once the pineal gland was fully activated, humans would be able to perceive life in other dimensions."
Ronak stopped struggling and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"For years, the professor's research went nowhere—until the Battle of New York. The appearance of aliens completely shattered his sanity.
He started buying Chitauri weapons and corpses off the black market, convinced that the genetic material of alien lifeforms could be the key to a breakthrough."
Lynn nodded slightly.
After the Battle of New York, even though S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Disaster Management Agency had recovered most of the Chitauri remains and tech, plenty of them had still slipped into black market circulation.
People like Professor Robertson weren't the only ones drawn to that kind of power.
"Go on," Lynn said.
At his prompting, Ronak's eyes flickered with fear as he recalled what came next.
"The professor's experiment actually worked," Ronak said, his voice trembling. "A beam of purple light completely activated the pineal gland in his brain. He said he could see creatures from another dimension."
"At that moment, he looked… possessed. He kept saying how beautiful those creatures were, and then he dragged me in front of the machine."
Ronak's expression twitched as he continued.
"When the purple light hit me, I really did see them—creatures shaped like translucent eels."
"I was shocked, but before I could react, one of those eels burrowed straight into my head… and another went into the professor's."
"The pain was unbearable. But the professor—he looked euphoric. He said it was a gift from God."
Just then, the door opened, and George Stacy stepped inside.
Seeing Lynn mid-interrogation, he quietly pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.
Ronak's voice dropped to a whisper. "Then something else happened… something worse."
"A monster with horns came out of the purple light."
"It swung an axe—" His voice broke. "—and chopped off the professor's head."
"I was terrified," Ronak said, trembling. "I cut the power to the device as fast as I could… and then the monster disappeared."
As the words left his mouth, the protrusion on his forehead suddenly pulsed.
Moments later, his entire body began to convulse violently. Saliva spilled from the corners of his mouth as he muttered hoarsely, "Brains… hungry… brains…"
His bloodshot eyes locked hungrily onto Lynn and George, and the restraints holding him down began to strain and creak.
Without hesitation, Lynn stepped forward and delivered a precise strike to Ronak's neck, knocking him out cold.
As Ronak went limp, George handed over a file he'd brought with him.
"Ronak—graduate student at New York State University. Conducted experiments alongside Professor Wilson Robertson," George summarized.
"According to the report, during one of their experiments, something went wrong. Ronak decapitated Professor Robertson with a fire axe. When questioned by police, he claimed a devil did it."
Lynn shrugged lightly.
"That's why he ended up in this mental hospital," George continued. "But we sure didn't expect things to escalate like this."
Without replying, Lynn sat down, pulled out his recorder, and replayed Ronak's statement on loop, his eyes narrowing in thought.
"What do you think?" George asked, breaking the silence.
He'd worked with Lynn long enough to know his partner's habits. Lazy, carefree, always chasing good food and beautiful women—but when it came to solving cases, Lynn Hall was a born genius.
At every murder scene, before forensics even wrapped up, Lynn could pinpoint the killer just from instinct and a few key details.
Cases that normally took weeks—sometimes months—were solved within three days of Lynn stepping in.
That was why the chief always went easy on him: doubled bonuses, full autonomy—because results mattered more than anything else.
Lynn finally spoke, his tone thoughtful. "I don't think this is as simple as the official report suggests."
He played back Ronak's recorded statement once more before continuing, "Tell me, George—do you think an ordinary person could suck out someone's brain through the eye socket?"
"Or break through reinforced restraints with raw strength?"
George frowned, his expression hardening. "You're saying we should report this?"
"Exactly," Lynn said. "Isn't S.H.I.E.L.D. supposed to handle supernatural cases like this? Let them deal with it."
He shrugged and stood up. "George, we're just regular NYPD detectives. With the salaries we get, it's not worth dying over."
"Tsk. Fair point," George replied with a nod. "I'll tell the chief to contact S.H.I.E.L.D."
After one last glance at the unconscious Ronak, the two of them left the ward together.
To their credit, S.H.I.E.L.D. moved fast.
Less than two hours after the report went in, agents had already arrived and taken Ronak into custody.
Later, back at the precinct, Lynn was in the middle of a lively conversation with Jennifer when a man in a dark suit entered the office.
Without missing a beat, Lynn held out the voice recorder. "You're here for this, right? It's the recording from Ronak's interrogation."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Hall," the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent said evenly. "However, per orders from above, we'll need you to come with us."
"What?"
Jennifer immediately stood up, eyes flashing. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has no right to take away a member of the NYPD!"
"She's right," came a firm voice from the doorway.
George Stacy entered, pushing the door open and stepping in front of Lynn, effectively shielding him.
"Within the United States, S.H.I.E.L.D. does have jurisdiction over supernatural incidents," he said coldly. "But jurisdiction doesn't equal authority to detain. You have no legal right to take an NYPD officer into custody."