"WHAT in the WORLD are you two doing with AEGIS?" Destiny demanded.
"Look—I don't have to answer to you!" Arthur snapped, and then he realized how silly it was to tell Destiny he didn't have to answer to her. He also realized he was yelling and his entire face reddened. "OK look—I'm sorry," he blurted out, "but—it's just that—AEGIS has been good to us, okay? We—we both just got accepted into the new Flag Five only like a little over a month ago." He cringed, wondering how he was going to explain that he'd just left.
"Wait—" Destiny whirled around. "What are you telling me? That there's a new Flag Five?"
"And Tick—" Arthur pointedly ignored her question (he wasn't about to open up that can of worms) "-ever since I met him? He's—he's always been—always!—been pushing me to, you know, follow my dreams." Arthur couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little at that in spite of himself. "He was always encouraging me to get out there and—and discover my mission," he added, staring off wistfully at nothing in particular, "you know? Always encouraging me to heed and answer your Call—because well—I guess that was what all superheroes are supposed to do." Arthur paused, thinking carefully about how to continue. "So—I just did what I could to live up to his expectations. And, thanks to AEGIS, I actually got into the Flag Five—and it was—"
Moronic hubris? Waste of time?
Or just some silly, stupid little kid's dream.
He grimaced at himself, carefully avoiding her eyes, which seemed to be tracking his every movement. "It's weird," he allowed, "but—I kind of always wanted to be a superhero…ever since I was really little—and….Now, that I know what it's like…." He trailed off, falling into silence.
"So…" Destiny leaned against the railing. "Is it…everything you imagined it would be?"
"Actually…." Arthur winced. "Today….was kind of a….a new milestone for me…" Suddenly exhausted, he sank into Tinfoil Kevin's chair. "I quit," he confessed, staring squarely at his feet.
"You…" Destiny swung around to face him with complete astonishment. "did-What?"
"Quit," Arthur echoed himself, then grimaced and stared back at his shoes. "I quit the superhero business."
"But—" Destiny gaped at him, then suddenly sprang to life, waving her arms at him like an angry propeller, "WHY would you just go and DO something like THAT!?"
"Look—" Arthur cringed as he retreated deeper into the chair. "-can you not—yell at me, right now?—please?" He wasn't about to explain to her his long list of triggers. "I can't—I live in this neighborhood! Besides—" He huffed as he shuffled his body around uneasily in his seat. "What's so bad about AEGIS? They support superheroes and stuff—"
"Oh come on—" Destiny exclaimed with complete exasperation, "You're kidding, right?"
"Actually-I'm entirely serious." Arthur hesitated before confessing softly, "Before joining the Flag Five I—I never really had my own kind of…place, to belong to—" he blushed, realizing he was confiding this in someone who might as well be a complete stranger—and not just any stranger, but a woman to boot. "-but AEGIS…actually gave me that place." He deliberately avoided her eyes when he spoke. "When I was there, I—" His voice almost betrayed him; he had to halt, then start again. "For the first time, I really felt like—like I was actually somebody…you know? Someone…important. Someone who could actually be somebody…useful." To his horror, he suddenly felt like he might cry—and he sank deeper into the chair, pulling inside himself much like he used to do at the therapist's office.
She must have noticed the change, because she slowly crouched down beside him, staring at him attentively as though he were a small and vulnerable child. "Why on Earth would you leave all that behind you then?" she asked softly. "Look…I get it….the need to belong….but…" She halted as a shadow swept over her face. "I know AEGIS—better than most….and I know…that not everything they do is….well…for the greater good of all."
"What do you mean?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Let's just say they have…ulterior motives….when it comes to the public's best interest, and the well-being of their citizens." She smiled at him, somewhat pitifully. "You really should be more careful who you trust, Arthur….Your lives are precious—and unfortunately—unlike the Tick—you're not invincible—you're human—and humans tend to easily misjudge their betters."
Arthur was silent for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around all this. Suddenly, he could hear the disgust in Overkill's voice when he learned they'd joined the Flag Five: "Idiots!" he'd called them—and at the time, Arthur had been so distracted by riding the high of being accepted into the Flag Five that he hadn't even bothered questioning why.
"So…" His head was spinning as he faced her timidly, suddenly exhausted from it all, even with all the caffeine running through his veins. "You're saying—I should have left—or—what exactly are you saying—?"
"Arthur!" a voice boomed out from above, and suddenly, the Tick bounded down from the rooftop to the ground below. He landed as easily as though he'd had a parachute, but of course, there was none. "You didn't tell me we were having company!"
Destiny swung around to face her old dear friend—a friend who seemed to not recognize the one who'd known him all those years ago. "...Tick…" In spite of herself, Destiny's eyes filled with tears. She ran towards him and, without hesitation, threw her arms around the big blue man's waist. "It's really you!" she gushed, as the Tick stood stock still, in a completely stunned silence. "Do you know how long it's been—"
"Arthur—" The Tick's voice wobbled slightly as he looked to his friend for an explanation. "There's—a woman—and—she's hugging —me—!"
"I know—!" Arthur ducked away to wipe at his glass lenses; he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain his own composure.
"You BIG OLD BUFFOON!" Destiny laughed. "It's your old friend—DESTINY!"
"Who?" The Tick's antennas wiggled with surprise and then went rigid.
"DESTINY! Remember? It's DESTINY, you fool," giggled Destiny, "DESTINY! And I'm so, SO happy to have finally found you again!"
"Hold the phone—" The Tick pulled away so abruptly that she nearly fell backward. "You're Destiny? THE Destiny!? It's actually really you?"
She beamed at him, "So you DO remember me!"
" 'Remember'….?" The Tick hummed a little strange note as he leaned back with a contemplative pose. "Maybe? Not sure…I—sort of remember a voice that sounded a whole heck of a lot like yours in my head…" His eyes suddenly lit up and he glanced straight at Arthur. "That voice who showed me the way, and where to find Arthur—?"
"YES!" Destiny jumped up and down. "That was ME, silly! I was guiding you the whole time—pushing you in the right direction! I knew you'd find the right person. And it worked—the experiment worked—you both found each other! You did it, Arthur—you're the perfect compliment to the Tick. Isn't that right, Tick? I've always had your back, haven't I?"
"Why—yes! I suppose you have." The Tick nodded dutifully and appreciatively, and in such a calm fashion that it made Arthur want to scream.
"WAIT a second!" Arthur jumped to his feet. "NONE of this makes any sense! If she's 'always had your back' where was she this whole time!?"
"In my head," grinned the Tick, winking knowingly at Destiny, who winked just as knowingly back, which only infuriated Arthur more.
"In your HEAD?" exclaimed Arthur with complete indignation. "You do realize how crazy that sounds—right!?"
"Come on, Arthur." Destiny chuckled and, before Arthur could protest, she playfully locked her arm around his, as if they'd been friends for a lifetime. "You know just as well as we do that craziness is an overrated term of phrase."
"Okay, okay," Arthur muttered. "Let's—all go inside and discuss this up there—instead of out here—okay? Because—first of all, I need to sit down—and one of you needs to start from the beginning." He was looking this time pointedly at Destiny. "And, since he can't seem to remember anything about his life before we met—I think that someone has to be you."
"I will," agreed Destiny, "if the Tick allows it." She linked her other arm with the Tick's more massive one. "Oh!" she gasped, surprised at the weight of his muscles, then giggled. "I forgot how strong you are," she admitted, then blushed as she patted his arm admiringly, as well as strangely protectively.
"Why thank you!" beamed the Tick.
Arthur retracted his own arm and, suppressing a groan, led the three of them upstairs, wondering what he could have possibly gotten himself into this time.