Chapter 14: The Epilogue

Two days after the big climatic superhero fight that was the talk of Bikini Bottom, things were starting to return to normal, especially for the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs had been released from prison, The Krusty Krab had been repaired, the contaminated buns had been recalled and replaced with fresh ones, business was running again in the restaurant, and krabby patties were being cooked by the one and only fry cook who was all too happy to have his job back.

Stroking the side of the grill, SpongeBob gently spoke to it, "I know I've already said this twelve times, but boy did I miss you." He wrapped his arms around the grill as he rambled, "I've missed your warmth, I've missed your sizzle…"

Before he can further express his love, Squidward interrupted from the other side of the window, "Hey Masked Moron," He angrily called, glaring at SpongeBob. "Where are the two krabby patties I asked for?"

"Right here!" SpongeBob blissfully answered as he handed two plates each holding a krabby patty. "And you don't have to call me that anymore, Squidward. I only go by 'SpongeBob' now."

Suddenly, the kitchen door swings open and Mr. Krabs barges in with a crowd of people. "And here we have the Masked Sponge. For only five dollars, you can take a picture with him."

"Wha?" SpongeBob asked in stun until he was pulled out of the kitchen by a random customer, who held SpongeBob close and took a selfie with him. The other customers nearly blinded him with the flash of their cameras.

SpongeBob chuckles bashfully and says, "Oh, thank you. But really, I am now only SpongeBob."

"Yeah, but you're still the superhero who saved us all." One male fish pointed out, followed by the rest of the customers cheerfully agreeing.

With an awkward smile, SpongeBob wonders, "Gee, am I?"

Mr. Krabs puts an arm around SpongeBob and assures, "Lad, you're the biggest hero this side of Bikini Bottom. Thanks to you, I got outta jail, I got me restaurant back, I got me business back, and best of all: I'm making more money than ever now that the Masked Sponge is working full time as me fry cook."

SpongeBob grins, mentioning, "And he intends to keep it that way."

"I hope so. Otherwise, I'd have to give you two paychecks for both identities." Mr. Krabs mentioned, looking uncomfortable at the idea. "By the way, do you know who the Masked Squirrel is?"

Suddenly, SpongeBob's expression goes to one of shock as he sweats nervously at his boss asking him to expose the Masked Squirrel's secret identity. "W-W-Why do you ask that?"

"Because if I'm making money by selling photo ops with one superhero, imagine how much money I'd make by having double the package."

SpongeBob began stammering nervously until Sandy approached and answered, "Hate to burst your barnacle, Mr. Krabs, but unfortunately, the Masked Squirrel has hung up her spats."

"What?" Mr. Krabs asked in shock at hearing that yet another superhero retired. "How do you know?" he asked suspiciously.

Sandy easily answered, "The ol' girl announced it right after that last fight."

Groaning in dismay, Mr. Krabs complains, "I guess superheroes are already out of style now."

As he walks away in disappointment, SpongeBob got closer to Sandy and whispered, "You really retired, Sandy? But I thought you would keep Bikini Bottom safe now that I've retired."

"Aww, SpongeBob," Sandy said in a comforting tone as she held his shoulder. "Don't ya remember? I only became the Masked Squirrel just to help you out. Now that you and the whole town are safe, I'm not needed anymore."

"Yeah…" SpongeBob responded with a small smile. "I guess so."

"But…don't mean we can't still test our crime fighting skills with a little kay-rah-tae."

Grinning with excitement, SpongeBob replied, "You know I'm in!"

"See ya later then." Sandy waved as she went home to wait for him until he was done with work.

With a dreamy sigh, SpongeBob says to himself, "Masked Squirrel or Sandy Cheeks, I still love her."

"Hello SpongeBob," the sponge turned around to see his best friend, Patrick, greeting him.

"Oh, Patrick," SpongeBob greeted nervously since he hadn't really spoken to Patrick since his last battle as the Masked Sponge, "It's great to see you again."

"Yeah…" Patrick said with a calm smile, "I was pretty surprised when you turned out to be the Masked Sponge."

SpongeBob now had a guilty frown as he said, "Listen, Pat, I'm sorry about lying to you all this time." He gave a small smile as he added, "Out of everyone I wanted to tell my secret to, you were the one I wanted to tell the most."

Expecting his best friend to furious with him, Patrick just held his shoulder and assured, "Don't worry, buddy. I always had this funny feeling that you and the Masked Sponge were connected somehow." With a dim chuckle, he adds, "Only someone…not smart could've not known it was you behind that mask."

"Thanks Patrick." SpongeBob said with a happy smile at his friend's understanding. However, he sighs sadly and recalls, "Being a superhero again and helping everyone was pretty nice, but it's just too bad that Mermaid Man still won't be around to save the day."

With a reassuring smile, Patrick states, "Hey, if Mermaid Man were here, I think he'd be super proud of you."

SpongeBob got a tearful smile at the thought of his favorite superhero expressing joy at his heroics from beyond the beyond. However, his imagination was interrupted by Mr. Krabs shouting, "Get back to work, SpongeBob! Just cuz you're a celebrity now, don't mean you get extra breaks!"

Afterwards, SpongeBob slapped Patrick on the arm and said, "I'll meet ya after work, buddy. Now that I'm no longer the Masked Sponge, I'll have a lot of extra time on my hands for jellyfishing."

"I'm looking forward to it, No-Masked SpongeBob."

Soon, SpongeBob went back into the kitchen and continued doing his job. Patrick then left the Krusty Krab and started his walk back home by himself to wait until his best friend was done with his shift.

When he went underneath his rock, he wiped his forehead in relief. "Phew, that was a close one." He said to himself as he walked toward his bedroom. "I was afraid SpongeBob would've found out my secret."

He opened the closet door and stood there as he stared at a piece of clothing hanging from a single hanger. It was a red cape with a star in the middle, blue shorts, and a red mask.

Smiling with determination, Patrick declares, "Now that the Masked Sponge is out of business, it is Starfishman's time to shine.

The End

That's the ending to the Return of the Yellow Avenger. Thank you to all those who read it and I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I had fun writing it.

And I wanna give a special thanks to all those who have read and reviewed all my SpongeBob stories since the very beginning. It has been a real blast throughout the years and while I'll be moving onto bigger and better things with my writing, my love of SpongeBob SquarePants will never die and I hope all my stories on here will still be enjoyed for years to come.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out more of my work on my profile.