To my Dearest Tick,

If you are reading this letter then I am not with you in physical form.

That does not mean that I am not with you.

I once told you that whenever you are lost and in need,
If you call my name, you will find an answer. That is only partly true.
I can guide others telepathically, yes. It is something I have been gifted with
since I was born. You, too, were gifted with telepathy, which made it so easy
for me to send messages to you! I knew when I met you that I had found
a kindred spirit.

We met at the AEGIS facility while I was stationed in Urmania. I had gotten manipulated into
the experimentation program, as did you—under one Dr. Johnson. We all called him "Eggy" behind his back
because his rumored nickname was 'Eggabye' and nobody knew his real name. Of course whenever anyone
dared to call him Eggy to his face—well—-let's just say Dr. Johnson wasn't pleased, and if you were the unfortunate one, he let you know it. At that time, Dr. Johnson was the Commanding Officer of AEGIS and had full say over what happened to Categories in his facility. Dr. Johnson was a corrupt scientist and had plans for the Categories in his care. I was one of these Categories under the "care" of Dr. Johnson—and, Tick, so were you.

Karamazov was working with Johnson during this time. He had no clue that Johnson was manipulating his discoveries to suit his own goals. Johnson was Karamazov's partner, so Karamazov trusted Johnson—unfortunately, he shouldn't have-because the consequences were a disaster of epic proportions.

You see Johnson's goal was to seek the most easily manipulated Categories and transform them into killing machines. He wished to make you, Tick, into a killing machine—one that could be impervious when it came to fighting in a war zone. (Please understand, none of this is a reflection on you—he was using mind control devices that are now outlawed by AEGIS to do this.) On the day that he was going to complete his goal, there was a coup—as one of his own Categories managed to free other Categories and short-circuited his goals. They botched the experiment, and you were freed—but the damage to your memory had already been done, and you were never the same after that. Thankfully Johnson's plans were aborted before he could reach your frontal lobe, which contains morals and ethics. You've been a master at that since day One. You were always good and will always continue to be good. There is nothing that will ever be able to change that.

Tick, I must apologize to you directly. I was trying to help you escape, and somehow we got separated. I was able to get free. I don't know what happened to you after. I only know that I was still able to send messages to you, and I would occasionally receive messages. Thankfully one of them was coming from this City, because otherwise I wouldn't have known you were here.

I am grateful that we have finally gotten justice and that Johnson is in custody! We did that together, Tick. You and Arthur and Destiny and Fate. We're quite the team, you and I.

You might think that since we are separated once more, all is lost. This is not so. You have a direct link to me through Arthur, through the Universe and through your own selfless heart.

We will always be connected.

I love you now and Forevermore,
Destiny

"Chum…" The Tick lowered the paper to his lap. Even as he addressed his partner, he couldn't bring himself to look him in the eye. He sat strangely still, eyes wide, seeing nothing and yet seeing everything. "My Origin Story….," the Tick murmured.

"Your Origin story," Arthur echoed, numbly.

"...all the missing pieces of myself…." The Tick shook his head in disbelief. He shivered a little, but he wasn't cold. "It's all….in one neat little place! Right….here…" His voice cracked slightly as he held up the piece of paper. "Right….here," he repeated, "thanks to…" He shivered again. "thanks to…"

"...Destiny," Arthur finished for him. He took the piece of paper nimbly between his thumb and forefinger, and carefully set it down on the table between them.

"Destiny…" The Tick repeated. He looked up at Arthur, only he seemed to be staring not at him, but through him—perhaps at something very far away. "She saved me….," the Tick murmured. "Saved me," he repeated again, "from the tyranny….of my Self …"

"Yeah." Arthur was trying to wrap his head around it. "She saved you, Tick. And…she saved me, too," he had to admit, "Because she was the one who helped us find each other and—without you…I…." Arthur swallowed hard.

"Chum…" He could see himself reflected in the Tick's slightly wet and shimmering eyes.

Suddenly too self-aware, Arthur ducked his hand into his back pocket. "Actually…" Arthur hesitated. "she wrote me a letter too…" He placed it gingerly on the table beside the other. "I…." He winced. "I don't know if I can read it…"

"It's a message from Destiny, Arthur." The Tick's voice was gravely serious. "You have to read it! Or," the Tick offered, "you can let me read it to you."

"Okay.." Arthur agreed, however uneasily. He could only imagine after all that, what his message could possibly be.

To my Dearest Arthur Everest:

You are more significant to the call of Justice than you could ever know.
Where would the world be without Arthur Everest?
Without you, the Tick would have been lost in the woods without a compass.
Without you, the Terror would have continued to roam free. Without you, the VBM
would have made it to the City, and we would all have bit the dust! You can say Superian
Solved all these problems, as I know that will be your argument—but you played a hand
in saving your City, and defending the rights of people everywhere.

You've overcome your fears, Arthur. You put on the flying suit. You ran into the falling city bus.
You stood up to the Terror when he would make most men run away screaming.
A long time ago, he tried to take everything from you
but You wouldn't let him. You stood your ground! You retrieved the scattered pieces of yourself
And you put it to good use. You know what you have inside
yourself is far too precious to be taken, like the Terror once tried—and failed— to take away your innocence.

You still know how to love, Arthur. That, truly, is your unique gift: the pureness of your heart and soul.
You may not be a Category in the conventional sense—but you are still special. You have a heart of gold.
You have the purest heart and soul of any human being that I've ever met—and I'll be forever grateful
to your loving-kindness, as I know the Tick is, and the City too, and the whole wide world beyond if they are
ever blessed to receive your presence as I have been.

All my love forever,
Destiny

"Destiny…" Arthur echoed, his lips still moving though they felt numb.

"Arthur…?" The Tick was staring at him, almost silent with awe.

"She knew about it…" He stared down at the letter shaking in his hands. "Everything…," Arthur said, gritting his teeth together as the lines began to blur. "She knew about it, Tick…" Arthur croaked. "She knew about it—ALL!" He slammed his fist—hard— down on the table in front of him; the force of the impact was so strong that the Tick jumped with surprise.

"She knew everything!" Arthur's voice rose to a shout.

"Easy there—" the Tick began, but Arthur was by now beyond simply flustered, speechlessly mouthing "Everything!" and wringing his hands in complete frustration.

"Arthur—" The Tick picked up the letter in question, holding it up as if it were a prize, "This is a glowing message of praise! You can rest assured this is all genuine admiration and acknowledgment of your successes—and they are successes that have all been well-earned! Remember," the Tick admonished, "Destiny only speaks the truth—"

"I KNOW all of that!" Arthur gritted his teeth to keep himself from exploding. "But—-she could have TOLD me all of that when—when—" Suddenly out of steam, he trailed off into complete and utter exhaustion, "When she was actually still here," he concluded and, before he could stop himself, he burst all at once into tears.

"Chum…" He could feel the Tick hovering above him with concern, and all he wanted was to disappear—because Arthur Everest didn't fall apart, like that, ever. No, he couldn't ever let himself fall apart in front of anyone—

"Oh…" the Tick murmured, "Chum…!" That was the final straw–-he Tick's voice that was far too understanding, far too motherly and soothing—that broke the last of his reserve, and Arthur fell apart completely, sobbing helplessly into the Tick's strong arms—arms that managed to catch him just in time. He stayed like that, in those big arms, until he was too tired to think anymore, and there were no more tears left to fall.

The Tick lay the sleeping Arthur gently down on the couch. He brought him a blanket and extra pillows. He was about to make himself some tea (because by that time it was almost morning) when suddenly a chilling scream sent shivers up and down his spine—and it was coming from Arthur's bedroom! Not wanting to disturb Arthur—who was somehow still asleep despite the sudden cries—the Tick crept slowly in the direction of the bedroom. He paused before entering, immediately positioning himself in attack mode, preparing for an onslaught. He burst open the door with fists ready for fighting: only to find that the room was exactly how they'd left it. There was only one other being in there—Superian—who was supposed to be sleeping. In fact, Superian was sleeping, but he was also dreaming—about being tortured by aliens—and before the Tick could wrap his mind around what was happening, Superian screamed again.

"SUPERIAN!" The Tick's antennas stood on end. "You're under attack! Wake up!" He shook the unconscious superhero urgently—only to have Superian's eyes snap open, and the most unearthly growl emerge—before he took both hands and grabbed the Tick by the neck—- "SUPERIAN!" the Tick pleaded, "it's ME—the TICK—! ARTHUR!" he managed to gurgle before Superian continued to tighten his death grip even more—

—-and that was when Arthur smacked Superian over the head with the frying pan, knocking Superian against the headboard, rendering him unconscious yet again—-

"TICK!" Arthur gasped, "are—are you okay!? What—what happened!?"

"Su-Superian—" the Tick groaned as he attempted to massage his neck, "his eyes—they—they were glowing this eerie red light and—and then he just started choking the living daylights out of me—!"

"ARTHUR!?" A sudden voice rang out, startled them both.

Turning, they were astonished to see Superian—who was actually awake, and looking right at them—stunned, as though he was seeing them for the first time. "What…" Superian looked around the room, his eyes widening. "What happened…Where am I…." He looked in both directions, his eyes widening further as he saw the Tick standing in the shadows. "Is…is this real?" He stared up at the Tick, squinting in confusion, "Are—are YOU—actually—Real…?"

The Tick rubbed his aching throat. "I know the pain in my neck that you just caused feels pretty real…"

"Superian!" Arthur stared in amazement. "Are you—okay?" he asked, hiding the frying pan beneath the bed. "Do—do you know who I am?" he asked as gently as possible.

Superian stared back at him in wide-eyed wonder. "You're….Arthur," he volunteered slowly, "And he's—the Big Blue guy—"

"I," said the Tick, antennas wriggling with agitation, "am THE TICK!"

"And this…" Superian was dazed. "This is your bed….and this room…" He stared in shock. "This is your place…?"

"Y-yeah, you're correct, Superian, that's right!" Arthur nodded with relief, but then startled with alarm, gasping, "No wait—Don't move!" as Superian began to sit up—only to fall instantaneously back against the bed, groaning with agony. "Lie still!" Arthur warned him, "you've got stitches in your backside."

"Stitches?" Superian chuckled dryly even as he winced in pain "I'm SUPERIAN. I don't get STITCHES–!"

"Well you're in for a rude awakening," Arthur protested, "because they're all over your backside and if you move right now—" Before he could finish, Superian howled as though he'd just been injured and fell back against the bed again in defeat. "-you might rip them," Arthur finished bluntly.

"Those sonsabitches!" Superian groaned. "I'm wounded—WOUNDED—do you know what it takes to wound SUPERIAN?"

"It's going to heal," Arthur reassured but to no avail.

"I'm a fallen soldier," Superian moaned, "a pathetic wounded invalid–"

"Only temporarily," the Tick commended him gently.

"What have they DONE, ARTHUR!?" Superian gave a shout so suddenly that Arthur jumped with shock and stared speechless, stunned. "And what have I , Superian, done-to deserve being here, once more, yet again, in your bed —!?" He looked around for a moment and froze as it suddenly dawned on him what had transpired in order to get him into Arthur's bed. "Arthur…" Superian turned slowly towards them; his face suddenly had gone pale. "How…exactly…DID I get back here," he stammered, "...again?"

"Superian…" Arthur sat down on the bed, slowly, so as not to disturb him, "what do you remember happening…last?"

"I was walking on the moon…" Superian squinted deep in thought. "I was walking…" he murmured, "up there. By myself. On…the….Moon…." His eyes grew even wider as the realization came to him: "You…" Superian stared up at them. "You both…. saved ...me?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded as he and the Tick breathed a sigh of relief, "that's right! We-we did—"

"But—" Superian's mouth twitched with pain. "but—that's not right—!"

"Oh come on Man!" The Tick replied with glee, "it's the most 'right' thing there ever was—"

"But I am SUPERIAN…." Superian was staring at them both in shock.

"YES!" the Tick exclaimed, "and I AM the TICK—"

"I'M not supposed to need SAVING…" Superian's expression was growing darker by the minute.

"C'mon Fella," the Tick clapped an unassuming hand on Superian's shoulder, "We ALL need saving every now and then—"

"NOT—" Superian shook the Tick's hand off him, "ME!"

"Are you kidding me?" Arthur stared in disbelief. "You came to me for help! You practically begged me to be your therapist—"

"YOU were the one who told me to go for a walk, Arthur." Superian's voice was like ice. "So—guess what? I went for a walk! On the moon! And I got abducted by aliens in the process." Superian shook his head at Arthur with disgust, "Some advice!"

"Are you kidding me right now!?" Arthur was livid. "You can't possibly blame ME for any of this—"

"Hey man," the Tick spoke up, "We came all the way up into outer SPACE to save you—"

"Who said I needed you to!?"

"Ex-excuse me?" Arthur stared in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"I never asked to be saved by him, or YOU, or ANYONE, dammit!" In complete anger and frustration Superian threw a pillow clear across the room, almost smacking the Tick in the process.

"Acutally-yes," Arthur retorted sharpy, "when you were sending all those MESSAGES in my HEAD!"

"Messages?" Superian blinked owlishly at him which only angered Arthur further.

"YES!" Arthur exclaimed, "MESSAGES! And—and they HURT!" he spoke with as much conviction as he could muster, "they were the worst headaches I've ever had in my life—I didn't even know it was you who was sending them until we were sitting on that pyramid in Guatemala—" He shivered as he remembered the experience, "You were giving me headaches for days—"

"Well, I was beaten for days!" Superian barked. "And where the hell were YOU that whole time, Arthur?" Superian demanded, "Nowhere that I could see—"

"Hey!" Arthur protested, "we're not like you! We risked our LIVES going into our space to rescue you! We can't just be in outer space in the blink of an eye—"

"C'mon, you guys took your sweet old time and simply forgot about me—simply forgot about poor good ol' Superian." Superian stared sullenly up at the ceiling. "Not like anyone noticed that I was gone anyway," he muttered with defeat.

Normally, Arthur would have had more sympathy for someone in Superian's position. However, he was exhausted, sleep-deprived and frustrated beyond measure.

"Well maybe," Arthur hissed, "they would care if you didn't act like such a royal pain in the ASS!" His voice rose to a sudden shout, startling Superian into silence. "Because maybe then you wouldn't have to go and sulk on the MOON of all places—instead of taking responsibility for your actions like a NORMAL person! But oh right," Arthur ranted, "I forgot—because YOU are the "ALL-MIGHTY" SUPERIAN! Which, basically means that You CAN'T act normal because you're NOT normal. You've never BEEN normal and you'll never BE normal—"

"Easy there, Chum—" the Tick warned from behind, but Arthur didn't seem to hear him.

"You know," Arthur seethed, "I really don't know why we all risked our LIVES by going ALL the way up into freaking OUTER freaking SPACE to get someone like you! Someone who's a gigantic larger-than-life freaking INGRATE who only cares about himSELF—"

"CHUM!" the Tick startled him.

"WHAT!?" Arthur whirled about, then suddenly realized it was the Tick who was trying to get his attention. "What," Arthur snapped, softer this time, but no less annoyed.

"Maybe—" The Tick nodded in Superian's direction, "maybe—go a little bit easy, Chum?" Arthur turned, noticing that Superian was turned fully away from them and was facing the opposite wall—which only made Arthur angrier, because he might as well have been ignoring him the entire time.

"What's this, Tick?" Arthur threw his hands up with frustration, "You're saying I should go EASY on him, because of what he's been through? Well let me ask you something—what about what WE'VE been through!? What about—"

"GET OUT OF HERE and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Superian bellowed from the bed like a sultan.

That was the last straw.

"Hey this is MY room!" Arthur barked at the top of his lungs, "YOU get the hell out of here and STAY OUT!"

"ARTHUR!" The Tick barked, pulling Arthur roughly to the side, "He can't just leave! He's injured Arthur—"

"He's acting like a spoiled brat!" Arthur seethed.

"Arthur…" The Tick pulled him towards the doorway. "COME with ME!" And he tugged Arthur out the door.

Arthur could only let himself be pulled along down the hallway and into the bathroom, where the Tick closed the door behind them and Arthur began to pace like a caged animal. "Why are we hiding out here in the bathroom, Tick?" he demanded, "We're not a couple of fugitives! Why—" He wrung his hands, "WHY are we bothering to save someone who actually IS a fugitive but—it seems like—like he doesn't even want to be saved!?" He began to pace again, "I don't understand that man at all—what is he trying to pull—"

"ARTHUR!" The Tick snatched him by the shoulders and placed a finger to his lips. "Shush….Listen….And maybe try to understand…." He pointed to the wall between them. Arthur forced himself to hold his breath to keep from yelling. He wasn't expecting to hear, through the wall, the sounds of undeniable…sobbing. The sounds were gut-wrenching—and to his own horror, Arthur realized that they were coming directly from none other than...

...Superian...

...himself.

"Shit…" Arthur muttered, "I've really done a number on him…haven't I?"

"He's really hurting, Arthur," the Tick whispered back with grave concern. "We can't give up on him now…"

"I know…" Arthur grimaced as he tried not to listen to the agonizing sounds. "I guess I'll have to go and talk with him…" He shuddered as the sounds continued. "In maybe a little while…"

"Now, Arthur." The Tick was stern. "Our friend is in pain!" the Tick emphasized, "he's not himself! You can't just let him continue to lie there all alone and suffer—!"

"He's trying to push us away, Tick." Arthur began to pace again. "He won't listen to reason! He's just going to continue to ignore whatever it is I have to say—"

"Remember what your gift is, Chum." The Tick placed a sturdy hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"My…." Arthur shook his head with confusion. "My 'gift'? What—er—what 'gift' are you talking about exactly?"

"Remember what Destiny told you," the Tick emphasized. "You have to get in touch with yourself! You've got yourself on hold there Chum! But all you have to do is just dial the same number you've always used before—it's where you've always kept it, right in your back pocket…"

"I'm…" Arthur sat down on the edge of the tub with exhaustion. "I'm really not sure I know what you mean…"

"Wisdom, Arthur." The Tick winked warmly as he nudged him towards the door. "Use your good-old-Life-given-Arthur-made wisdom!"

"My—" Arthur stared at him. "my WHAT?"

"Your good-old-Life-given-Arthur-made-"

"OK Tick—" Arthur groaned. "I got it—"

"-WISDOM!"

"Alright." Arthur sighed as he forced himself to his feet and shuffled towards the door. "Wish me luck."

"LUCK!" The Tick called loudly.

Arthur groaned again loudly into his hands as he made a hasty retreat. He'd need all the luck he could get.