"AT LAST!" The fifth Judge rose and spoke addressing the masses, "At long last, we all can breathe!" the Judge exclaimed, "for so long we were working under the oppressive shadow of Dr. Johnson—but you, my Dearest One, have set us free! We are finally, finally now free to reign as we please. You, Miss," he addressed Destiny warmly, "have managed to return absolute order to what was once complete and utter chaos! Without your help and the Doctor," he proclaimed beaming down at them, "we would not have had the proof needed to put Dr. Johnson away."

"It is my honor," Dr. Karamazov bowed with great reverence.

"To bestow our thanks," the Judge concluded, "we will provide you the keys to the Cosmos—you are permitted to travel anywhere amongst the Universe as you see fit—and you are permitted to take with you whomever you'd like, for as long as you'd like, to wherever your mind and soul and heart desires!"

Karamazov's eyes shined. "Then," he proclaimed, whirling around, "I know who I am to be taking with me—I will take with me Destiny," he declared, "and Fate!"

The room came to a hushed silence as everyone turned towards the two in question. Arthur's heart nearly leapt out of his chest as he held his breath waiting for their response—would Destiny leave them?

"Doctor…" Destiny's voice trembled with emotion as she let her hand drop from Fate's grip, and she walked slowly towards Karamazov. "Do you really….mean…we can come with you?"

"You know me, Miss," Karamazov beamed at her, practically glowing, "do you not? We have known each other for quite a while now. Do I, or do I not, always say exactly what I mean?"

If there was a response from Destiny, he couldn't hear it as her gasps were muffled as she wept against his coat.

It was Fate who came forward then and reached a still slightly shaking hand out to him. "Thank you," she whispered, breathlessly. Unable to face the judges, she turned towards the Tick and Arthur, shyly. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered, and turned away before either could respond; Arthur's words caught in his throat, and the Tick was, it seemed, momentarily too stunned to speak.

Only momentarily.

"DOC!" The Tick blurted out of nowhere, "Wait just a millisecond!" He bounded over to the group in the center of the room. "You and Destiny are leaving Earth—" His antennas began to droop. "...Forever?"

"We'll never forget you, Tick." Fate approached the giant blue 'bug' and planted a kiss on his cheek.

The Tick's eyes widened at the soft warm touch, and his fingers flew upwards to land on the place she had kissed him. He continued to stare down at her in silence, his hand still on the place where her lips had left a mark.

"Destiny…" The Tick turned slowly towards his old friend. "When will I see you again?"

"I'm….not….actually sure…" Destiny's voice broke slightly as she came slowly forward. "But…maybe I'll be able to visit you in a dream," she added, laughing, though the laughter was half-hearted. "Here—I've got something for you," she added and handed him a folded piece of paper. Looking down, he could see it was a handwritten letter. "This is a letter for you and Arthur—make sure you read every word to him carefully," she told him, "That will tell you everything." He stared down at the letter in his hand, too shocked to respond. "And if you're ever looking for guidance," she said as she gave his rm gentle squeeze, "just remember I'll be thinking of you and sending signals on the wind."

The Tick nodded as though he understood, but Arthur wasn't sure. Arthur didn't understand it himself. "You're—just leaving?" He slowly, almost shyly, approached Destiny and Fate, "Just…like that?" He couldn't bring himself to look them directly in the eyes for long.

"I know," Destiny nodded sadly, "we didn't get to know each other for very long," she added, "but…I've known you for a lot longer than you think….and you're a wonderful person to know," she concluded, before coming forward and, before Arthur could respond, suddenly Destiny was—kissing him—brushing her lips blissfully soft against his, and he had never felt anything so beautiful or wonderful as that very moment.

"This is for you," she whispered as she slipped him a second piece of folded paper. "It's private. Make sure you read it when you're by yourself," she added, staring into his eyes during what must have been a moment but what felt like a thousand years.

"I will." Somehow, Arthur had remembered how to speak. He held her hands in his own, unable to pull his eyes away. "I'll never forget you," he choked out a whisper.

"Arthur Everest!" A voice was summoning him but he couldn't move.

"They're calling your name," she whispered in his ear with a smile.

"Arthur Everest!" The Guard was calling him. "Your presence is requested at the entrance of the Bomb Bay Doors!"

"Doc…" The Tick gripped Karamazov's hands. "How will I ever repay you?"

"Existing." Karamazov smiled warmly back at the Tick. "Your existence is my reward."

"TICK!" The spell had been broken, and Arthur suddenly remembered where he was and what they were doing. "Superian! They—they've brought him to the gate! They're gonna let him come back home with us," he blurted, grabbing the Tick's arm. "Thank you Dr. Karamazov," he smiled at the Doctor, "we couldn't have done this without you!"

"Godspeed my boys," Karamazov beamed at them as he shook their hands, "Godspeed!"

"TICK!" Arthur turned wildly to find the Tick standing still in a daze, "C'mon! We gotta go get Superian."

"Destiny….!" The Tick began to reach out for Destiny, but she stopped him in his tracks, halting him with her hands.

"Superian is calling you home, Tick," Destiny declared, "you must go—now—it is time!"

"But Destiny—" the Tick stammered, sounding baffled, "Without you I'm—lost—!"

"No you're not," Destiny smiled, giving him a quick but gentle hug, "you've got Arthur—and your own mind! Now go, and rescue Superian," she urged, "it's what you came here to do!"

"I do have Arthur…" The Tick looked behind him, where Arthur was waiting anxiously with the guard. "You're a Mischievous Minx, m'Lady," he smiled down with amusement at the woman in question, "a Sassy Sleuth you are!"

Destiny gave him one final hug. "Goodbye Tick," she beamed at him, all the while nudging him gently towards the exit door, "now GO!"

Arthur grabbed the Tick's arm and pulled him the rest of the way without looking back. They followed the guard back through the metallic maze towards the exit where Dangerboat's entrance was waiting. There, barely standing while propped against two guards and half-delirious, was Superian. If not for the faded checkered shirt and blue pants, Arthur might not have recognized him—he looked as though he'd been through a war, minus the blood. He'd noticeably lost a lot of weight. His pants were scuffed and tarnished, and his checkered shirt in tatters. He'd grown a beard, which along with the dark circles beneath his eyes, made him look altogether ancient—and Arthur had to remind himself that Superian was, in fact, ancient—but he had also never seen him look so completely and utterly….vulnerable.

"SUPERIAN!" Tick immediately gathered his friend in his gigantic blue arms; Superian, who was barely conscious, let the Tick pick him up and place him over his shoulder, flopping helplessly like a rag doll.

"Oh my God," Arthur managed to speak, glaring up at the guards, "What did they DO to him?" He watched with horror as the Tick began to head towards Dangerboat with his precious cargo.

"That was under Johnson's orders," the Guard answered back simply.

"Okay," Arthur replied in spite of his voice that trembled with barely confined rage, "Well you can bet that I'll make sure NONE of that will EVER happen to anyone EVER again!"

With that he turned on his heels and followed Tick quickly down the corridor in the direction of their own ship's waiting sanctuary, grateful to leave the nightmares of that place behind them.

"Jesus," Dot exclaimed as they loaded the now completely unconscious Superian into a spare seat, "What did they DO to him?"

"God only knows," Arthur muttered. "What matters is that he survived—and that we get him home." To their AI friend he called out urgently, "DB—how fast can we get back home?"

"Shouldn't take more than 2 hours tops," Dangerboat declared proudly. "I've come equipped with extra booster rockets which will push my entry speed at close to the speed of light!"

"Wow," Arthur gasped, "you can really do that!?"

"Enough small talk," Overkill interjected as he finished strapping Superian in. "I just gave him an extra sedative. That should be enough to keep him sedated for the long haul." Overkill looked upwards at the all-seeing Eye of his partner. "Hey buddy," he nodded eagerly, "You ready for takeoff?"

"As ready as I can ever be!" Dangerboat complied. "There will be a countdown T-Minus 10," he added, as everyone prepared for descent, "will you say it with me? Starting now: T, Minus 10…9….8….7…"

The countdown took less time than Arthur imagined. Soon a sensation like he had never felt before, one that felt like being sucked into a whirlwind, pulled him out of orbit and towards the Earth. He could feel the ship being tugged back into the drift of gravity. It was a dizzying and woozy sensation, but he had never felt the thrill more strongly than he did right then—he only wished that Destiny and Fate could have experienced it too. This time his eyes were open, and so were the Tick's, and his eyes saw everything—and heard everything, including the sonic BOOM they burst through the sea of clouds, and then there was a great blue sky—and then the sun was shining so brightly that he could hardly see.

They were moving swiftly like a plane towards the ocean, then, and for a moment Overkill tightened his grip around Dot's fingers, squeezing hard, only to release when he suddenly remembered that Dangerboat was also—well—a boat—and they would be fine landing on the water just as well as they would have on land.

Sure enough, two rudders were lowered, and Dangerboat graced the water with ease, letting a parachute erupt from behind to slow his speed down and bring them to a floating halt—

–and finally, Overkill could breathe again—

—-they were home.

"WHOOHOO!" Arthur whooped along with the Tick, before reaching for extra oxygen.

"My goodness DB!" The Tick was sweating. "That was one helluva ride!"

"Told you it would be exciting!" Dangerboat was clearly enjoying himself.

"Unbelievable," Overkill stared. "You…." He couldn't move; he couldn't take his eyes off his own reflection in the lens. "You actually fucking DID it."

"Yes," Dangerboat declared proudly, "I actually fucking DID."

"Did you just fucking swear at me?" Overkill blinked up at his partner in a mixture of amusement and stunned surprise.

"And so what if I did?" Dangerboat replied in the sassiest tone he could manage, "Would that be a fucking problem?"

"Of course not!" It was Dot who took it upon herself to answer for him...because Overkill was laughing too hard himself to answer.

It turned out the sedative lasted just long enough to get Superian to Arthur's apartment without incident. Thankfully the landing had taken place at night, so they were able to smuggle Superian in without anyone noticing. Arthur was relieved once they finally got him inside and on his couch. Even unconscious and barely recognizable, Superian might have been noticed by anyone, and the last thing Arthur wanted was to cause a widespread panic about his abduction. He knew they had to be discreet about this for a while until Superian was well enough to speak on his own accord. Until then Arthur knew they couldn't tell anyone about Superian's current location—not even AEGIS, who he was sure would be contacting him sooner than later, as he hadn't been available during business hours.

Sure enough, when he got home, Arthur noticed that the Flag Five wristwatch that had the communicator was blinking—Commander Rathbone liked to check in with his fleet on occasion. "Uh oh," he muttered to himself. He could only hope he wasn't in trouble.

"Good Day Son—or should I say Good Evening." Rathbone was in a foul mood, he could tell that much.

"Yes….sir?" Arthur managed to reply.

"Have you or have you not been aware that your alarm was activated several times prior to this moment?"

"No Sir," Arthur stammered, "I-I was dealing with a-a- personal crisis," he added weakly, "Sir."

"Are you aware that there was a meeting this evening at 4:00pm and that you and the Tick were not present at the time?"

"Oh—" Arthur slapped his forehead with frustration, "I can't believe it, we totally forgot! I'm SO sorry Sir," he blurted out, "it was a-a-a–real—uhhh, family—uhhh—" He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping Superian, "-emergency—"

"Well OK then, that's fine, son—family always comes first!" The Commander nodded at him. "But you two make sure you make the next meeting! You copy that, Son?"

"Oh—yes–Copy that, Sir!" Arthur stood at attention. "Will do!"

"Good job son." The Commander clicked off.

"Do what?" The Tick had suddenly appeared, startling Arthur.

"Oh, nothing," Arthur lied, "that was just Rathbone…" He shrugged. "Wanted to remind us about the meeting coming up soon that's all." He was about to start putting groceries away when he noticed the Tick was smiling fondly at him. "...What?" Arthur demanded, suddenly feeling too aware of himself. "Why're you…staring at me like that?"

"I'm proud of you, Arthur."

Arthur snorted as he opened the freezer. "...for putting groceries away?"

"For not giving up!" The Tick clapped him on the back.

That was when a sudden crash from the other room got their attention, along with the sound of breaking glass. They ran into the living room to find Superian was not only awake but in a terrible state. He was standing stock-still in the center of the room. His eyes were open, but they were glowing a deep dark red, the kind of red that meant only one thing: vengeance.

"S-Superian…?" Arthur held up hands of truce. "Don't do anything crazy okay? It's-it's me, Arthur—and the Tick," he added carefully for good measure.

"Arthur…." The sound of his name had never sent chills up and down Arthur Everest's spine. "ARTHUR. FUCKING. EVEREST." Never before had Arthur heard his name spoken with such pure and utter hatred. Never had he known Superian to look so terrifying, or so….enraged….and what was more terrifying, was it seemed Superian's anger was pointed directly at him. "YOU did this to me-!" Superian, though he was barely standing upright in his half-delirious state, pointed an accusatory finger in Arthur's direction. His voice was nearly devoid of all emotion and chilled Arthur to the bone. "And YOU will have to PAY!"

"Easy there fella!" The Tick squared his jaw, drawing closer to Superian, easily prepping and flexing his wrists. "If you dare come any closer—YOU FACE….THE TICK!"

"Tick," Arthur stammered in horror, "this is Superian! We can't fight him!"

"HA!" Superian threw his head back and laughed maniacally. "That's because NOBODY fights SUPERIAN and lives to tell the tale! Because I am SUPERIAN!" In a split second, Superian shoved Arthur against the far wall, knocking the wind out of him.

"SUPERIAN!" The Tick's voice rang out loud and clear. "If you do ONE MORE THING to that boy I will HURT YOU—"

"I'd LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" Superian tightened his grip on Arthur's collar and was pinning him to the wall.

"S-s-s-Superian!" Arthur struggled to breathe, "L-let me go a-and we can talk about this—"

"Take a WALK you said," Superian hissed into his ear as Arthur feared the lifeblood draining from him, "Take a walk on the GROUND, you said—-ACK!"

Suddenly Superian's grip released. Arthur fell to the ground, gasping for air. He glanced up in shock just in time to watch the Tick hurl Superian across the room, knocking him against the opposite wall, where he landed in a heap on the floor.

"TICK!" Arthur shouted, watching the Tick closing in on Superian, "don't hurt him—you can't hurt him—It's Superian!"

"He was going to hurt YOU, Arthur!" The Tick lunged at Superian, but Superian strangely didn't respond, nor did he fight back. When all he did was respond to the Tick's threats by shaking his head in confusion, Arthur realized what was happening, and immediately sprang to action.

Without hesitation, he rushed to stand between them.

"TICK!" he gasped, stopping the Tick just in time, "STOP! DON'T!"

"But Arthur—" The Tick looked bewildered. "WHY should I STOP? He was HURTING you—"

"Because!" Arthur stammered, "It's SUPERIAN! And—" Arthur froze and stared down. "I think he's finally snapping out of it!"

"Snapping WHAT out of WHAT?" the Tick appeared agitated. He was fully determined and ready to defend Arthur at all costs. "Whatever IT is, ARTHUR," the Tick gritted his teeth as he flexed his muscles, pumping himself up and preparing for battle, "I'm gonna snap him straight back INTO SOME-thing—SO HARD—!" He halted in his tracks with astonishment when he heard a sudden whimper.

"Don't…." said the whimpering voice. "Please! Don't….!"

Arthur stared down at Superian, who crouched into a huddled fetal position on his living room floor.

"Hey…." Arthur dared to crouch down on the floor beside him. "Su…Superian…?"

"-ARTHUR—?" Superian gaped at him. He was shivering. "Is…is that really—YOU?" he croaked.

"Yeah…" Arthur managed to speak. "It's really me…."

"What—what's happened to me—?" Superian sat up suddenly, only to collapse again in pain, "OWwwww!" he moaned as he rolled around on the floor, "Ohhhh," he moaned, "it hurts! It hurts!"

"What hurts?" Arthur was alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Arthur," the Tick spoke up suddenly, "he's bleeding…." and pointed at Superian's backside. Arthur quickly lifted Superian's shirt, revealing skin that was covered in welts and scars. Arthur gasped.

"Chum…" The Tick stared down, horrified.

"My God…." Arthur felt ill. "Superian….who would do this to you?"

Superian could only moan in response.

Arthur knew they had to act fast, or risk waking the whole neighborhood. "Tick," he urged, "get us the pain pills from the bathroom's medicine cabinet. We also need a full glass of water and—an antiseptic cream from the corner medicine cabinet and—and bandages. Lots and lots of bandages. Copy that?"

"Roger that!" The Tick sprinted off for the bathroom.

Arthur suddenly had to sit down. He'd suddenly realized he was shaking like a leaf—he'd never known that superheroes could actually bleed….

Now, even freed, Superian's life was still possibly in danger. They were going to need backup, and soon—because if they didn't act quick Superian might have to be taken to a hospital. Arthur didn't want to risk it, because the public would be swarming and that could potentially put Superian in even greater danger. Thankfully the next best thing to a hospital (which would garner too many questions and unwanted publicity) was Dot.

"Arthur!" Dot wasn't expecting a call from her brother so late, but thankfully she had company, and she was still awake.

"Dot!" he exclaimed with relief when she answered, "Thank God you're still up!"

"What is it Arthur?" Dot could tell from the sound of his voice that this was urgent—quite possibly even an emergency. "What's wrong?"

"Superian—he's awake," Arthur stammered, "but—he's not doing well, Dot. He—he's covered in scars and…and he's in pretty bad shape. I've—never seen anything like it—"

"I'll be right over." Dot hung up and snatched her keys and tried not to wake Overkill who was fast asleep in the bed beside her. She left him a note and hurried out the door before she could change her mind.

"Yeah," Dot confirmed grimly as she examined Superian's wounds, "These'll need stitches. They're…pretty deep." She forced a smile as she cheerfully presented the First Aid kit, "thankfully I've got all the necessities and the know-how that ought to patch him right up!"

"Thanks, Dot." Arthur breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, Superian had passed out cold not long after Dot administered him a sedative. He was now laid out on Arthur's bed, still unconscious. Arthur shook his head with disbelief; he could never get used to seeing the superhero in his bedroom. "I'd do it soon," he advised his sister, "because when he wakes up he can be a bit combative."

"Combative?" Dot tried not to appear concerned as she went about dressing the wounds. "Like how?"

"He pushed Arthur into the wall!" the Tick announced, and Dot stared up with shock as Arthur groaned.

"He did WHAT to you!?" Dot exclaimed, whirling around towards her brother.

"He…kind of….pushed…me…" Arthur muttered, "into the wall."

"And you're just telling me NOW!?" Dot exclaimed, looking horrified. She immediately began to examine him from head to toe in search of cuts and bruises until Arthur held his hands up in protest, "I'm good, Dot! I'm good!"

"You sure?" She kept inspecting him, hovering over him like a worried mother.

"Just a little sore on my right shoulder," he forced himself to admit (it was true, but at least then she'd finally leave him alone).

"You better get some ice on that then." Dot nodded at the Tick, "get him the ice pack from the freezer, okay?"

"That's OK Tick," Arthur interjected, "Dot, he's not a retriever! I'll go and get the ice pack from the freezer." He left before the Tick could protest—he hated to admit that all he wanted was some solitude, a little peace and quiet. He was exhausted, the day had been jam-packed with things he'd never done before (and hopefully never would have to do ever again).

He also couldn't stop thinking about Destiny. That kiss….It had felt strangely…like home…

"So Superian should be good for now." Dot broke the silence as she entered the room. "I'll come back tomorrow to check on him—Arthur! What are you doing sitting in the dark?" Dot stared at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Arthur tried to smile at her, but it came off more like a frown. "...just kind of tired," he shrugged, "I guess."

"Try to get some sleep, Arthur." Dot handed him the ice pack. "You can't be doing any of this crazy superhero stuff without some beauty rest." She noticed the time then, "Shit! I'm supposed to be heading into work today. If Overkill stops by—" She stopped, realizing how that sounded, and looked away blushing, "Tell him I'm at work OK?"

"Sure," Arthur nodded absently, then realized how absurd a request that was. "Wait, what do you mean? WHY would Overkill—?"

"Who knows?" Dot feigned innocence. "Listen, if there are any problems with Superian, call me!" She paused as though she were pondering something significant, but what Arthur couldn't tell; then, Dot rushed towards him and gave him an unexpectedly tight embrace. "Take care of yourself, Big Brother." When she pulled away, she tried not to notice that Arthur's eyes had filled with tears. She hadn't called him "Big Brother" in years; for the longest time, it had felt the other way around, with her always doing the protecting—but now everything was different. Now, he was a superhero, and he could look after his own.

"Thanks, Dot." Arthur smiled at her, almost shyly as they broke the embrace. "I'll let you know if we need anything."

She smiled once again endearingly at him from over her shoulder as she left, closing the door.

"Arthur?" The Tick said suddenly and Arthur jumped. The man had an uncanny ability to appear suddenly as if out of nowhere—it was like he was Arthur's shadow. Arthur swung around, only to be alarmed by the Tick presenting Arthur with a carefully folded up piece of paper.

"Arthur," the Tick said, solemnly, "Destiny has a very important message for us!"

"She—" Arthur nearly choked on his words. "She does—!?" He tried not to sound as excited as he felt. "What is it?" he pressed eagerly, "what's the message, Tick?"

"No idea Chum," the Tick smiled back at him wanly, "but I think this letter I've got here might actually have something to do with it!"