Ata crime scene, the heroes are dealing with the aftermath of their battle. The cops come over and ask for their licenses. Tick doesn’t have one, and the officers write him a ticket.
At the Panda, Batmanuel assures his friends that plenty of heroes operate without a license. Janet says that to get a license, Tick will have to go to the DMV and fill out some forms. When Tick and Arthur get there, Tick admits to the clerk, Thelma Green, that he doesn’t have a real name or date of birth that he knows of. Arthur talks to Tick privately and Tick says that he is... The Tick. Thelma rejects Tick’s application.
Back at the Panda, Arthur tries to get some information from Tick on his background. He’s not at all helpful. Batmanuel complains that another hero, Weasel, managed to get his picture in the paper.
An out-of-costume Janet goes to a dry-cleaner to pick up her costume, and runs into a man. He says that he got blood on his clothes when he sliced his finger with a bagel, and the owner admits that they lost Janet’s costume. The man intervenes, suggesting that the owner tell Janet that he’ll look for her clothing and call her when it finds it. As Janet goes, the man asks her out to dinner
Batmanuel calls Weasel and accuses him of bribing reporters to cover him. However, he asks what it costs, supposedly out of curiosity.
At the police station, Tick reports himself as a missing person. They feed everything about Tick into the super-computer but there’s no ID match. They go public but at first, nobody responds.
At her apartment, Janet tries to pick out clothing for her and finally finds one dress among her costumes.
Tick stares at himself in the mirror and tries to figure out who he is. Arthur gets a call from the police station, and tells Tick that someone has shown up and says that they know him.When they go there, a woman--Sibyl--identifies Tick as her husband. She claims that Tick is Ted Glick, and he immediately accepts her story. Arthur isn’t convinced, but Sibyl insists that Tick is her husband. She has a marriage certificate and Arthur is shocked that Tick has been living a double life. He’s angry that Tick has lied to him, but Tick assures him that he’s still Arthur and leaves with Sibyl.
Arthur goes home and throws away everything reminding him of Tick.
At the Panda, Batmanuel is looking at his new photos and calls the press. He wants the same deal as Weasel, but chokes when he hears the price. However, he agrees to pay the price. Arthur comes in out of costume and sits down, and Batmanuel is shocked to see him look so plain. When Arthur tries to talk about how shocked he is at Tick’s other life, Batmanuel takes a call. Janet comes in wearing street clothing and it takes a moment for her friends to recognize her. She says that she met a man and he has no idea that she’s Captain Liberty. Janet and Batmanuel start arguing about their own relationship.
Arthur goes to Employment Development to find a new accounting job, and explains his career as an accountant turned superhero.
At home, Sibyl shows Tick photos of them at the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and the Eiffel Tower. He tosses salad and wants to gout on patrol, and Sibyl tells him to sit down because they’re going to eat. They have dinner, but Tick would rather go out on patrol.
Janet and her new beau go out on a date. Afterward, she says that there are things about her that he doesn’t know. As she invites him up to his apartment, just as a mugger comes up and demands their money. The beau wants to comply, but Janet refuses and invites the mugger to shoot. She disarms him and knocks him down with a few swift blows, and he runs off. Beau stares in shock, and Janet apologizes.
Arthur is at home watching TV and dons his costume to see Janet. When he gets there, he discovers that she’s wearing her costume as well. They check Janet’s crime file on Sibyl, and discover that she finds missing men and claims that their husband, and Photoshops photos to make it look like they’re married. They head out to rescue Tick.
At his new home, Tick is writing a letter to Sibyl saying that they want different things and he can’t give her a home and a husband. Arthur and Janet arrive at his door and Tick hugs them. They explain that he’s not married to Sibyl, and tick goes to finish his letter. He leaves it next to the sleeping Sibyl and goes.
Later on the rooftop, Tick is looking out at the city when his friends arrive. Tick says that what matters is that they answer the call from themselves. They have no idea what he means, but Arthur says that Tick needs to get the license so they can fight crime as a duo, and he needs to know the truth. Tick says that he’s given him all that he has, and Arthur accepts that. Batmanuel says that there’s only one guaranteed way to know the truth: creating it by lying.
Soon, Tick gets a license using the fake name of I.P. Daily and goes about fighting crime. As they go , Batmanuel stops to check his picture in the paper. He discovers that it’s way in the back under “Funny Foto of the Day.”
Written by Gadfly on Jul 31, 2016