"ARTHUR!"

Someone's hand kept shaking him.

"Arthur!" The voice kept hissing in his ear. "Wake UP, Arthur, it's important—!"

"Not now Tick," Arthur mumbled and rolled over, "just a few more minutes–"

"ARTHUR!" The voice hissed again in his ear, "it's Destiny! Wake UP! I've GOT to tell you something!"

Arthur groaned and searched for his glasses. When his vision came into focus, he could see Destiny poised excitedly at the edge of his bed, her face half-shrouded by darkness. To his amazement, the Tick was still snoring away beside him, oblivious.

"Destiny?" He sat up abruptly with alarm. "Are—are you okay?" He peered at her in the darkness, anxiety immediately creeping in. "What is it—" he demanded urgently, "what's wrong?"

"I know where Superian is," Destiny spoke in an animated yet hushed whisper.

"You…" Arthur's head was reeling. "You do?"

"Yes…" Destiny's eyes shone brightly as she took his hand and led him into the living room. Arthur, in a daze, let himself be led without protest. "I can't believe this is true Arthur," Destiny murmured, "but the same aliens that captured Superian also captured my sister!"

"Your—" Arthur tried in vain to shake his head clear. "Your sister is—is with Superian?"

"She's there with him on the ship!" Destiny nodded back at him with conviction. "I'm certain of it." She shook her head in disbelief. "That's why the messages are coming in so strong," she concluded, seeming surprised by the notion herself.

"But—" Arthur shook his head again; none of this made any sense to him. "I thought you said your sister had disappeared—right? How come she couldn't contact you before? How—" He hesitated, not wanting to disappoint her or cause her pain. "How do you even know the messages are actually from her and—and not some kind of a trap…?" His voice trailed off.

"Arthur…" Destiny was watching him closely—a little too closely for that matter. "Do you know what a Soul Signature is?"

Arthur suddenly felt very small. "No…," he admitted reluctantly.

"It's a person's essence," Destiny explained. "The very definition of their BEingness…the indicator of what separates one person's soul is different from that of another's."

"Okay…" Arthur wondered where she was possibly going with all of this.

"You don't believe me," replied Destiny sadly. "Yet look at you and the Tick….how do you think the Tick found you? Why do you think he trusted you?"

"Coincidence," Arthur shrugged indifferently, "I just happened to be at the right place…at the right time." He eyed her with uncertainty, "...Right?"

"He saw the GOOD in you, Arthur," Destiny declared, and Arthur felt chills running up and down his spine. "He could tell YOU were YOU—just from being near you! It's why he trusted you without question—that's how it is with people whose paths are—for lack of a better word—destined to cross." She smiled wryly at him. "And it's the same with me and Fate," she continued, "and how I KNOW it's her that's sending me these messages about Suprian….She's been trying to send me the coordinates."

"Coordinates?" Arthur echoed with disbelief. "But isn't Superian in outer space—"

"Yes, he is," Destiny confirmed as though it were inconsequential. "But the important thing is this: if I'm going to receive these coordinates, Arthur…" Destiny reached out and, before he could protest, took Arthur's hand in her own. He shivered a little; it was surprisingly soft and warm. "I'm going to need your help first." He watched with alarm as she took his other hand in her own. He found himself staring into her eyes, mystified by the pureness in them. "You," declared Destiny, "and the Tick."

Fate could tell that she was getting closer.

The ancient quartz crystal she always carried was getting warmer and warmer in her hands. It had begun to vibrate and buzz as though it were alive—which it was, as a conduit of living energy. Fate turned the crystal away from herself and pointed it in the direction of the Fugitive's cell.

He hadn't moaned in quite some time now, and she feared that he was getting weaker.

She could only hope that the healing energy of her Crystal would disarm the hold that the Bismuth had on him. In the meantime, she focused all of her efforts on channeling to Earth, where she knew Destiny was waiting…waiting and watching the skies, and wondering when she would arrive.

"I don't understand…" Arthur continued to pace back and forth, as an endless stream of questions forced their way into his consciousness. "Explain this to me because–How are we supposed to help you contact Fate? And–and even if we were able to contact her—how can she help us save Superian? If—if he's actually being held prisoner in outer space," he stammered, "how do you expect us to do anything about that?" He could feel himself getting more and more flustered the longer he paced. "We're part of AEGIS," he snapped at her, "not NASA!"

"Actually…" Destiny paused, which caused Arthur even more alarm, "AEGIS does have a secret space exploration branch…and…I believe your friend's Dangerboat might be able to provide us with the intel to—"

"What!? NO!" Arthur hissed, "we are NOT involving DB or—or Overkill, for that matter, on this mission—!"

"It could be imperative to," Destiny cut him off sharply, "for I believe your friend Dangerboat is also a multifaceted flying machine who is also fully equipped with the ability to move beyond our atmosphere—"

"You—" Arthur froze. "How—" he stammered, struggling to comprehend, "how did you know he could—" He blinked. "Wait—what? Are you telling me…" Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "You're telling me Dangerboat's also a spaceship?"

"Multifaceted flying machine," Destiny replied, echoing her own words, "involves multiple facets….and multiple methods of flight."

"WOAH!" A voice boomed suddenly from the doorway, "That is quite a big surprise!"

"Tick!" Arthur whirled around. "You—you were listening to us the whole time?" Arthur stammered, his face gone pale. "And—you really have no objection to—"

"To us heading into outer space, Chum?" The Tick beamed. "Of course not! I wouldn't miss it for the WORLD—" He paused for a moment as he realized his mistake. "Scratch that—the UNIVERSE!"

"Yes," Destiny giggled, laughing in response, "but first—we need to let Fate know we're coming!"

Arthur was shivering from head to toe. He'd never considered the possibility he'd one day own a flying suit, much less don it and fly around—or much less find himself one day planning a trip into outer space— "Okay," he mumbled, already regretting his decision, "So—how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, well, well, Arthur: look at you!" The Tick beamed at him, striding into the room as he clapped an arm around Arthur, nearly knocking him over in the process. "Embracing the future! You and I…" He grinned at their guest, who smiled back. "...and our Destiny!"

There was only one way that Destiny knew when it came to boosting telepathic communication. It was also the only way she knew to circumvent the effects of Bismuth. In order to connect with Fate, she would have to surround herself with quartz crystals. Thankfully she always carried plenty in her bag—and this she began setting up on the floor inside of Arthur's apartment.

"Are you sure that this is the best place to do—this?" Arthur asked, watching nervously as Destiny placed the crystals end-to-end in a large and complete circle. She had also lit several candles, and the shadows gave off an eerie glow that made him feel like he was in some kind of magician's magic cave.

"Why not, Arthur?" The Tick responded instead, "I couldn't think of a more appropriate place!"

"Because if it works," Arthur stammered, "wouldn't it alert the aliens somehow? And—and then wouldn't they know where we live?"

"That's not how it works, Arthur," Destiny replied hastily as she lit a couple more candles. "Think of this as a direct line to Fate."

"Yeah," Arthur muttered under his breath, "see…that's exactly what I'm worried about."

"Easy, Chum!" The Tick placed a hand on Arthur's back, nudging him forward towards the Circle. "This is Destiny. She's an old hand at this kind of thing—right, Destiny?"

"Look—I don't even know what this 'kind of thing' is, Tick!" Arthur began to pace nervously (albeit carefully) around the multiple burning candles sitting on his living room floor. "I feel like I'm some high school cheerleader who's about to do a—a seance!"

"It's not a seance, Arthur," Destiny protested, "Fate's not dead. We're not communicating with ghosts here. We're trying to contact my sister."

"Destiny…" Arthur paused. "Where did you last see your sister?"

Destiny paused in the center of the Circle, but did not turn around. "The day that I last saw the Tick," she answered softly. "A day that will go down in infamy as the fallacy of AEGIS's legacy."

"What happened?" Arthur pressed, glancing wide-eyed at the Tick for answers.

"Good question Chum," the Tick replied wistfully, "wish I knew."

"And why doesn't he remember any of it?" Arthur demanded, even more urgently.

"I'll explain later." Destiny immediately set up a large chunk of clear quartz in the center of the Circle. "Right now, I need your heads clear in order for us to become a clear channel." She turned towards them. "Okay. Arthur, take a seat Indian-style on the floor, and Tick, do the same across from Arthur. I'm going to join you and we'll hold hands." To Arthur she said, "I'm going to place this necklace over your head. You will wear this throughout the duration of the ritual."

Arthur could only watch, mystified, as she placed a necklace made of a single length of string with a single small quartz crystal attached to the bottom over his shoulders. "Thank you," he whispered, staring at it, mesmerized. "But—how is this going to—"

"This necklace was handed down in my family through many generations, Arthur," Destiny declared. "It is used to communicate with outside forces. It was gifted to us by a Shaman—and now it is gifted to you."

"I…" Arthur felt slightly dizzy but also strangely warm. "I…really don't know what to say…"

"I am going to say an incantation," proclaimed Destiny, "and you are going to close your eyes…and attempt to communicate with Superian….as I will attempt to communicate with my sister—who I believe are not far apart from each other." She turned to the Tick. "Tick…you will be a grounding station to hold the energy that will be coursing through our veins. You will transmute it to the flames that are surrounding us to be released into the atmosphere and returned to whence they came from."

"Roger that," complied the Tick. "Except…what is a 'grounding station'?"

"You will keep us tethered to the Earth," explained Destiny, "so that we don't float away once the energies unfold and threaten to consume us—"

"Hey—this won't destroy my apartment," Arthur interjected, "-right?"

"All will be happening only inside," declared Destiny. "Okay. Arthur, are you ready to begin?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Arthur accepted her hand in his, as he took the Tick's hand in his own.

"Keen, Chum!" The Tick was beaming. "Let's do this!"

"OK." Destiny spoke, and the lights suddenly dimmed as a soft wind blew through the room, sending shivers up and down Arthur's spine. "Let's do this."