Okay, so, this is the end. For real.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review this story. Especially those of you who've stayed with me since The beginning of The Freeze Ray Chronicles. It certainly has been an adventure.

It's hard to imagine that all this came from one little three shot I wrote on a whim...

It's been fun, but now it's time to close the door on this Dr. Horrible-verse.

I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Threads of a Different Color.

While Billy had Fawks and Zaboo sufficiently trapped in a one sided storytelling of his relationship with Penny, Moist moved out of the living room and down the hall towards the locked door of the bathroom.

"Penny?" He asked through the door, keeping his voice down as not to rouse suspicion from the trio in the other room.

"Moist?" She sounded pitiful, so broken and confused, so unlike the Penny he'd known.

"Yeah, can I come in?" He asked, praying for a miracle.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open a hair. Moist took this as an invitation, and he crept inside.

"What are you guys doing here?" Penny, who looked more like Penny now, and less like a shell of her former self, asked.

"Like Billy said, we're here to take you home." Moist said, shifting awkwardly in the small space.

"What if this is my home now?" Penny was beyond confused, or sad, she was distraught. Moist wanted to hung her, to tell her that they would make it right, to do something, but he knew that Penny wouldn't appreciate the soggy gesture as much as he hoped.

"Try telling that to Billy, he's so hopped up on adrenaline now I was surprised he didn't actually attack you when we walked in the door." Moist laughed, trying to break the somber mood with a joke.

"He gets like that, doesn't he?" Penny smirked. She could feel the buttons of his lab coat digging in through her sweater. Then, he was kissing her, and Penny couldn't think. She didn't care that his goggles were digging into her forehead, or that the rubber gloves he was wearing would be hopelessly difficult to get out of her hair. For a moment, she didn't even care that the man she was kissing was the same man that was holding her captive. All she knew was that her knees had turned to jelly, and that something had to be very wrong to make him do this.

Penny blinked, clearing the memory from her mind. Why was she turning her back on these people, really? Was she too scared of going back, maybe. Maybe it was the change in reality. She had some semblance of a choice now, unlike the last time, and she didn't want to pick the wrong group.

"Billy really wants to see you." Moist said, serious this time. "At least go talk to him." Penny nodded, biting her lip, and she opened the door.

The living room fell silent as she walked in, and Penny felt self conscious, though not for the first time. She pulled a chair from the dining room table, purposefully avoiding the painfully obvious empty spots next to Billy and Fawks.

"Cyd. Is this joker for real?" Fawks asked as soon as she sat down.

"Penny, you can't have seriously considered this guy!" The comments overlapped, and Penny felt overwhelmed.

"My name's not Cyd, Fawks. It's Penny." She said, "And yes, I did date him, Billy, for two days." Both men sat in shock, each receiving the answer they didn't want.

"What happened, Billy?" Penny asked quietly, and though Fawks and Zaboo looked confused, Billy knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Captain Hammer's dead, Penny, and Johnny Snow." Billy began, leaning towards her and trying not to be too harsh.

"Jason's dead." She repeated, her tone was almost emotionless, as if she had expected it. "Just heroes?"

"No, Lieka, Jefferson, and Bowie as well." He looked tormented.

"Penny, bullets flew everywhere, some of us were even hit by our own gunfire."

"You too?" It came out almost as a whisper. Despite the lack of words, Penny felt herself being ensnared by Billy's tormented web, cocooned in it, as if they were the only two people left in the room.

Until Fawks cut in.

"Cyd- Penny, you mean this guy has killed people?" He was, for the first time, visibly flustered.

"Fawks, it's better if you don't know." Penny said, and though it didn't show in her voice, she was beginning to get more and more annoyed with them.

Billy seemed to sense her edginess, because out of nowhere, Fawks and Zaboo were encased in an icy blue aura, frozen in time.

"Billy!" Penny cried out in shock, "You can't just do that to people!"

"Penny, let's not think about them for a minute." Billy caught Penny's hands in his own, and turned her towards him.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come get you." He started, and Penny began to protest, that apologies weren't necessary, but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry for killing you, I'm sorry for lying to you and keeping you captive. I'm surprised you'll still talk to me after all this. Penny, after everything I've put you through, do you think, maybe you could come back?" Billy's blue eyes were so full of hope, Penny could feel her resolve crack.

"I'd really like to properly date you." Then he gave her that shy smile. The one she hadn't seen for years, since before she had even started dating Captain Hammer, and her resolve broke completely. Nothing was holding her here, and nothing could stop her from picking up and leaving everything behind.

The prospect didn't scare her, she'd done it before, and this time, there was no emotional stake, nothing to lose.

She looked into his eyes for what seemed like forever, lost in the sweetness of their crystal blue color, before a barely audible 'yes' escaped her lips.

The grin, for it was a grin now, that split Billy's face was enormous, and Penny almost laughed at the absurdity.

"Yes, of course I'll go." She said again, giddy, throwing her arms around Billy in excitement.

"But Billy," Penny began as they came off their initial high. "Can you still unfreeze them?"

"Sure, get your things, I'll take care of this."

"I don't have anything I need to get." Penny said, thinking a moment over all her belongings.

"Alright then." Billy aimed the freeze ray at his victims again, and fired, freeing them from the immobilizing blue aura.

The trio was out the door before Zaboo or Fawks realized what was happening.

"Are you sure about this?" Billy asked, as they slid into the back seat of Moist's car.

Penny smiled at the both of them, and shyly took Billy's hand.

"I'm sure."

For the first time, the drive was nice. There was no black cloud hanging over their heads. No deadlines, no threats. It was just three friends on a road trip, returning home for the last time.

Let me know what you think!

And don't worry, I won't be away from Dr. Horrible for long! I just need to catch up on all the other stories I've got running, then I'd really like to do a bunch of one shots about the married life of Penny and Billy

(Hint hint, if you have ideas you'd like to see, let me know!)

Thanks again to every one who has read and reviewed, I couldn't have done this without you!

XOXO
Belle