Normally, Dot would have let her mom and stepdad Walter know immediately about Arthur.
This time, however, she was so mad with Arthur that she could barely see straight. She drove straight to the wharf and stormed straight into Dangerboat's hull without knocking. Dangerboat of course was used to this by now, as dot had become one of Overkill's most trusted colleagues. She was astonished to find Overkill more than halfway through Princess Bride with his mouth full of half a can of FO-Ham. Figures, she thought bitterly. This was supposed to be their "second date", and it seemed that Dangerboat had already taken her place.
"Where the hell were you?" Overkill demanded without taking his eyes off the screen. "I've been twiddling my thumbs like an idiot in here for more than an hour."
"You ought to give Princess Bride more credit than 'twiddling'," scolded Dangerboat from his vantage point on the ceiling. "It's both a beloved and highly underrated classic."
"Chick flick," Overkill snorted deftly in between bites.
"Arthur was admitted," Dot explained bitterly. "I had to go see him at the hospital. I should have called," she muttered wearily as she sank into the chair next to him, trying to avoid the obvious glare in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"You're right," Overkill grunted without looking at her. "You should have called."
"I said I was sorry!" Dot snapped, and thankfully he seemed to get the message and fell silent. It never ceased to amaze her that as much of an ass he could be, Overkill seemed to sense sometimes when it was good to be quiet, even though he didn't always seem ready to walk away.
Instead of continuing the argument, she noticed he was watching her carefully. Then he nodded and turned back to the film. "Apology accepted."
Dot felt a swell of relief in her gut that she'd been holding in all day. "Thanks," she muttered.
"How is he?" Overkill asked, and Dot glanced at him with surprise—it was rare that Overkill cared enough to ask how anyone else was, ever—and it was especially strange that he was concerned about her brother.
"Arthur?" Dot shrugged. "Who knows. He was having a massive migraine. They sedated him with painkillers, and it seems he's doing fine now. Thankfully it wasn't a psyche issue." She thought for a moment, then blurted out in a huff, "Oh—and there was some odd woman with him—she claims her name is—"
"-Destiny?" Overkill's response was far too quick, and Dot practically jumped with shock.
"Yes," she stammered, staring widely, "how—did you know about that?"
"I know her," he shrugged almost nonchalantly, enough to make her heart do a couple of nervous leaps. "She…spent the night here…recently," he confessed, and when he saw Dot's wide-eyed response, he looked away. "It wasn't like that," he added carefully, "she was lost. She needed help."
Dot snorted; she didn't buy his act for a minute. "Doesn't everybody?" She stood and began to pace. "Who IS this woman? Does—do ALL the men in my life know about her before me? Does WALTER know about her too? WHY is she talking to my BROTHER!? WHY—"
"She is classified as a category 5 and a fugitive, as well as a former assassin currently on the run from AEGIS." Dangerboat spoke up suddenly and rapidly, so quickly she could barely follow, less than keep up. "Superpowers are telepathy and general extra-sensory controls. She is very psychic—impressively so, I might add," he added for good measure. "Your brother is in good hands. She will not harm him."
"WAIT a second—" Dot paused and stared at Overkill. "You knew she was coming for Arthur and you didn't tell me?" She looked like she wanted to slap him, but she remained still and trembling.
Overkill did not appear fazed by Dot's fury. "She was actually looking for the Tick," he replied matter-of-factly it made Dot's blood boil, "Not your brother."
"Still…" Dot shook her head, clenching and unclenching her fists. "You should have said something! I mean—she's a former assassin—" She halted when she saw Overkill's pointed glare. "Right," she muttered. "I guess that shouldn't matter." She saluted him mockingly. "Case in point." She sat down again in a huff, exhausted. "You still should have said something," she added hotly, "letting some strange woman spend the night!"
"He's telling the truth about that night," Dangerboat argued Overkill's case. "I was there."
"Guess you would be," Dot snorted with amusement, smiling a little in spite of herself. "Since he lives in you and all." To Overkill she dared to ask, "Why did you let her inside to begin with?"
"Found her while I was out on patrol. She'd tripped by accident on some plank. Cut herself." Overkill paused; he appeared almost puzzled by his own actions. "Normally I wouldn't have…"
"So what made this one so…special?" Dot spoke the word 'special' far more harshly than she'd intended.
Again Overkill paused, which gave Dot pause in turn and she stared.
"Not sure," he admitted gruffly, then returned to the temporary distracting act of shining his weaponry. "But DB trusted her and….I trust DB," he added, with a dutiful nod at his partner.
"You can't tell," the bot responded with obvious amusement, "but I am blushing profusely behind my lens."
"Don't let it get to your infrastructure." Overkill snorted bemusedly over his shoulder. "Look Dot…I wouldn't worry," he allowed, as Dot continued to stare. "I only have one closer woman in my life," he added proudly as he held up the sniper gun in his hand, "and her name is Shakira."
Arthur never shared his bed with anyone, let alone with a "big blue bug man", as he'd heard the Tick occasionally referred to. However, this was not a typical night, and Lady Destiny was asleep on his living room couch.
Sharing room in such a small space took some getting used to, and it took him forever to finally fall asleep. Of course, the moment he did, something almost immediately jolted him back awake. The something was a voice, and Arthur thought he was still dreaming—because it wasn't just any voice. It was The Voice: that same one he remembered from so long ago—that was always demanding an answer to the same age-old question he could never find the answer to:
"What are you gonna DO about it, Arthur," the voice boomed loudly in his ear, "What are you gonna Do!?"
Arthur sat up in bed with a start, only to discover the voice was still talking….and the voice actually belonged to The Tick.
Arthur stared, mystified: Was the Tick having a nightmare?
"TICK!" Arthur hissed, so as not to disturb Destiny. "Hey—wake up–it's me! Arthur!" He shook his friend's arm gently and, much to his relief, the Tick's eyes snapped open, staring up at him wide-eyed with astonishment.
"...Arthur?" the Tick blinked. "Is that you?"
"Yeah Tick." Arthur relaxed a little. "It's me. You…you were having a dream," he mumbled, feeling suddenly awkward and more than aware that the Tick was in such close vicinity. "A- a nightmare, I think."
"I was?" The Tick sat up in bed, appearing dumbfounded as he glanced around Arthur's bedroom, as though he were seeing it for the first time. "How could you tell?"
"Um…" Arthur shrugged uneasily. "You were…mumbling something in your sleep," he allowed carefully, "something about…um….me."
The Tick looked strangely pleased as well as surprised. "I was dreaming about you?"
"Yeah," Arthur nodded, glad the Tick couldn't see him blushing in the darkness, "but in the dream...you didn't seem too…happy."
"That doesn't sound good Chum." The Tick squinted as though trying to recall his own actions. "What was I doing in the dream?"
"You kept on asking—" Arthur backtracked. "-rather—demanding—" he halted, "what I was going to do, about…something? Except…I'm not sure what that something was."
"Huh." The Tick stared blankly out into the darkness. "That's a first. Me, demanding something of you?" he chuckled, patting Arthur lightly on the shoulder. "You're already a pretty generous partner, Chum," he added soberly, "Gave me a roof over my head, all the coffee I could ever want….the best sidekick in the world a superhero could ever ask for! So that begs the question: what more could I possibly want that you haven't already given to me?"
Arthur had to smile a little at that. "Tick…" He hesitated, not sure if he should continue because he wasn't even sure what he was getting at. "Have you ever communicated with anyone…." He carefully avoided the Tick's eyes as he spoke. "...telepathically—before?"
"Telepathy?" The Tick spoke the word as though it were foreign to him. "As in—I read your mind?"
"Yeah," Arthur nodded uneasily. "Like that."
"Why yes Chum!" The Tick suddenly lit up with excitement. "Now that you've mentioned it," the Tick proclaimed, "I believe that's exactly how I've been speaking to Destiny this whole time!"
"Right!" Arthur nodded emphatically, glad that they were on the same page. "So….you can speak through someone—but do you remember ever…speaking…through some thing? "
"Not sure I follow, Chum," the Tick replied candidly.
"I mean like—" Arthur hesitated again. "I-I know it sounds crazy but—"
"A lot of things sound crazy Arthur," the Tick pointed out soberly. "But that doesn't mean they're true."
"Do you think it's possible," Arthur posed, "that someone or—some thing —can communicate telepathically—through light?"
"Anything's possible, Arthur." The Tick smiled mischievously (and perhaps, if Arthur was being honest with himself, a little too knowingly).
"Ok see—when I was a kid I—I had this nightlight," Arthur confessed. "It—it spoke to me…." He blushed, suddenly profoundly embarrassed; he had never told anyone about this before in his life, not even his therapists.
"What did it say?" The Tick appeared fascinated, and not at all questioning his sanity (as Arthur had secretly feared).
"I…" Arthur winced. "I think whoever or- whatever it was," he allowed, "wanted me to...maybe...avenge my father." He avoided Tick's probing eyes as he continued, "It…It was saying exactly what you were just saying….over and over again—" He could hear his voice cracking even as he continued, "It wouldn't stop asking me the same damn question: 'What are you gonna DO about it?' it kept saying, 'What are you gonna DO?' And—and I could never get the courage to actually do anything about it—"
"But you DID do something about it, Arthur!" The Tick protested. "You helped to put a stop The Terror!"
"That was Superian, Tick," Arthur muttered under his breath. "He froze the Terror right after he put a gun to my face, Tick." Arthur shuddered. "He-he was about to pull the trigger—"
"Every superhero has his weakness, Chum." The Tick lay his big blue hand to Arthur's shoulder. "And like most, yours just happens to be your face–"
"Yeah well…I hate to break it to you, Tick," Arthur mumbled bitterly, "but…that's not my only weakness." He flopped back down onto the pillow with defeat. "I'm just weak," Arthur muttered grimly to the ceiling. "Period."
"Oh come on Arthur!" The Tick protested far too loudly, switching on the light and nearly blinding Arthur in the process, "You helped save that baby from the bus—"
"It was a dog, Tick," Arthur groaned, "and nobody noticed–"
"Of course they did!" The Tick exclaimed, "That mother noticed! She'd almost lost her baby—"
"Dog," Arthur reminded. "It was a DOG!"
"Dogs are important too, Arthur." The Tick's voice was strangely quiet, and Arthur groaned inwardly as he realized why, remembering what the Tick now knew about himself and his past.
"I know that Tick," Arthur muttered, covering his eyes with both hands. "I—I'm just saying…I'll never be as celebrated as you…"
"That's not true, Chum." The Tick smiled at him then so warmly and lovingly that Arthur had to abruptly look away. "You've come such a long way, Arthur," the Tick declared, as though it were written in the stars. "You've got so much more to do!"
"That's just it, Tick," Arthur mumbled, "what if I don't have the guts to do it?"
"You've got guts, Arthur—I've seen them! And you've got Destiny in your corner now." The Tick beamed at him. "We both do," he declared proudly. "And trust me, Arthur, when I tell you this: Destiny will never let you down."