Jack carefully leaned through the doorway and looked around. "Mark?" He whisper-shouted. The room was empty. He walked in and looked around again. At the center of the room sat a curious looking machine, and beside it sat a table. On the machine, assorted wires snaked around a panel, where a light shined underneath.

"Whoa." Jack studied the instrument. He noticed the wires were pointed out away from the main body of the machine, and then some color on the floor caught his eye. He looked down and saw more wires, but only pieces, like something tied up in them had pulled and gnawed away at the colored strings to escape. Mark? Jack wondered. At the same time, Signe gasped.

"Tyler!" Jack turned and saw Sam studying the table. On it, a small plastic container with poked holes in the lid held an unconscious human. He too was on top of a smaller machine, but it was scanning him with healing lasers, the giant noticed. "Oh Sean, please get him out of there!" Signe begged in his ear. Jack crouched and peered at Tyler. He didn't look too good, about the same condition as Jordan. He bit his lip and carefully picked up the container, taking the lid off and checking the human for any visible wounds.

"He looks in pretty rough shape," Jack remarked. "It'll be risky if I take him from the laser, it's healing him and may be what's keeping him alive." Signe looked pale.

"Are-are you sure?" She asked.

"No." Jack shook his head and studied Tyler more. "And I could accidentally hurt him," he murmured. His hands trembled a little at that thought. Signe shook her head.

"No you won't," she said firmly. "You are going to pick him up, get him out of this hell hole and save his life along with the rest of us! You aren't hurting anyone, and you're doing an amazing thing risking your life just to save ours. So don't start giving up on us and believe in yourself too!" Jack stared wide eyed at the Danish girl. For only a few seconds, he was speechless, but then he managed a quirky flash of teeth.

"Y-yes ma'am!" He chuckled. He set the container down and studied it again, wondering how best to get the human out. He reached in and gently nudged the man's head, cupping it in his hand and sliding his fingers down his back until he could scoop Tyler out. Jack felt him stir a little, and he checked his breathing for any problems. It wasn't erratic. He wasn't in any pain.

"Felix can look at him as soon as we're out of here," he said out loud. He put Tyler in his pocket and then craned his neck at Signe. "Let me know if he wakes up." Signe nodded and climbed onto his hand, letting Jack put her in the pocket as well. Once he was sure they were safe, Jack started to take a step before stopping and looking at the machine again.

"Where the hell is Mark?" He murmured.

Mark was in a daze. He didn't know how he got here, or where he was, but he remembered that he needed to get out. His own pulse boomed in his ears; his heart pounded loudly in his breast; his muscles ached, and he was so tired. Overhead, a light flashed mockingly at him, and Mark muttered as he waved his hand and covered his eyes.

"Leave me alone." More lights flickered. The hallway felt endless. Mark frowned and rubbed his eyes. His legs wobbled under him, threatening to give out. "Go away," he said. Voices howled with laughter in his ears, and the engineer swatted the air. "Go away!" He said desperately. But they just wouldn't. He groaned and gripped his stomach. He felt sick. His legs shook again as he struggled to remain upright, and he stopped to lock his knees together in place.

"Stop it," he murmured. "It isn't funny." The applauds and laughs came again. He covered his ears, trying to tune out the voices. "I said stop it!" He screamed. But nothing happened. He fell to his knees and shook, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please stop," He whispered.

"Mark!?" Mark looked up and gasped. That voice...! Jack came around the corner and looked down at him. But, to his confusion, his eyes were glowing green, and a huge sinister grin was plastered on his face.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"N-no." Mark backed away. "Leave me alone!" He cried. Not-Jack giggled and crouched down.

"What's the matter? Scared?" He laughed. "If I don't play with you, I'll be so bored," the giant said sweetly. Mark scooted back again. His arms felt weak under his weight, and his leg was aching as sweat dripped down his brow.

"P-Play!" Mark panted. "I'm not a plaything. J-Jack, it's me, please!" He fell over on his side and curled up into a ball. "Don't hurt me!" He wailed. Not-Jack laughed, sending shivers down Mark's spine. His hand came out reaching for him menacingly, and Mark buried his face in his knees to brace himself. As soon as he touched his back, a jolt of agony jumped through him. Mark screamed and thrashed to get away.

"NO!!!" He screamed. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!!"

"Now why would I do that?" The giant laughed. "Yer in no condition to be sayin so." Mark looked down and felt sick. Bloody scrapes covered his arms, and his pant legs were stained with blood. He trembled.

"Wh-what did you do to me?" The giant laughed again. Mark flinched; it made him want to claw his ears off.

"You did this," Not-Jack laughed, "Yer going mad, buddy. Welcome to the luxury life!" Mark whimpered.

"N-no." He watched as more blood dripped from his fingertips, splashing onto the floor in small red dots. Sickened, he swayed and slumped against the wall. But the wall was suddenly gone. He fell over and collapsed on what he realized was a hand. Not-Jack chuckled and held the human up to his face.

"What are ye gonna do? Cry for yer mommy and daddy?" He teased. More tears splashed from the spaceman's eyes. "No? Maybe yer brother?" Then Not-Jack gasped mockingly. "Oh that's right! Yer friends are gonna die, and no one knows where you are. No one can save ya!" Mark grit his teeth.

"Don't you dare hurt them!" He screamed. The giant giggled.

"Oh, silly Markimoo. I haven't done anything... yet." He licked his lips sinisterly, eyes gleaming with a wicked excitement. "But I can't wait to get my hands on them." Mark tried to bite his hand, but it didn't affect the demonic giant. "Mark, Mark, Mark." The giant tsked and poked Mark roughly. He winced. "When will you learn? Yer not hurting me." He smiled diabolically. "Yer hurting him." Then Mark's senses went numb.

"Mark? Mark! Mark, answer me damnit!" Mark opened his eyes. His ears had a ringing sound in them, and he couldn't see. His vision was blurry, and all he saw was a huge figure in front of him before panic suddenly blasted through his veins again. He started to thrash, but he was quickly stopped by a touch on the head. "Hey, hey, hey! Easy," the voice whispered. "Yer ok. Yer gonna be just fine." Circles were gently rubbed on his head, mussing his hair before smoothing it back down, and then repeating. Mark groaned and slumped, struggling with his body to catch up on what was going on.

When his senses gradually returned, Mark realized that a familiar, pale hand was holding him. He rolled over on his back and looked down to see that he was only a foot off the ground- in giant proportions. A finger touched his back, making him flinch.

"It's ok, it's ok," the familiar voice murmured. "Just calm down, take a deep breath. Yer gonna be just fine." The finger started to rub circles into Mark's aching back. It felt good. His muscles relaxed as he shuddered and went limp. His heart was racing, and his skin was wet with perspiration.

He twisted around and held his arms out to look at them. Some scrapes and cuts marked his forearms, but there wasn't any blood gushing from them. His breathing faltered. He looked around wildly. They were at the end of a hallway, next to a window that beautifully exhibited the sky. Mark shivered.

"Wh-what... Happened?" He asked hoarsely. Jack frowned and rubbed the engineer's hair.

"Beats me. I found you just walking around in the hall. You looked like a zombie, and then..." His voice quivered, and he stopped himself there. Mark groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"I-I don't remember what happened," he mumbled, "Th-there was this guy, Damien, and he-he and this guy named William tied me up to this-this machine. Then they-they injected something in me, and then everything went dark." Mark looked up at Jack with a woozy expression. Jack winced. He looks so pale, and he looks like he's about to fall over. He forced himself to smile a little.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's over now. Can ye walk, or-or stand?" Mark shook his head and lay back down, resting his head on Jack's curled fingers.

"I don't think I could ever do anything again," he muttered. Jack frowned and cupped the human in his hands.

"Don't say that. You've just been through a horrible experience, of course you feel like shite right now." Mark hummed a small note, agreeing. Jack sighed and cradled the tiny engineer against his chest. Mark shifted into a more comfortable position, and Jack lay his other hand over him like a blanket. Mark closed his eyes and sighed, but then he opened them again.

There was a bite on Jack's hand.

"J-Jack...?" Mark lifted his head. "You're-you're bleeding." Jack gave the bite a nonchalant glance and moved his hands, blocking Mark's vision.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," he insisted with a forced smile. Mark closed his eyes and frowned.

"I-I did that, didn't I," he asked miserably. Jack's smile wavered.

"It's ok. You were just trying to defend yerself," he said. "You didn't know." Mark sighed and didn't say any more. Jack watched the human for a few seconds, and then he shook his head and got up. "Come on. I already got the others out. They're all waiting for ye." Mark's mind buzzed with that idea. The others... Amy... my friends...

"I've had enough for one day," he agreed drowsily. Jack nodded.

"Right. Let's get outta here."

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy." Jack's head snapped up to see Damien. He stood there, smirking, as men came from the other hallways and stood beside him. They were surrounded. "Looks like my experiment was successful," he said, "Pity you had to go and ruin the fun, in the end." Jack backed away.

"Experiment!?" He seethed. "You call hurting people an experiment? Yer sick!" Damien chuckled.

"Perhaps. But nonetheless, you played a surprisingly good role in it. You've managed to bond with one of these creatures, taming it and getting it to trust you. You've turned out to be quite the owner." Disgust made Jack's gut churn as he glared at the men. "I can offer you a large sum of money, Jack," Damien offered.

"I don't need it," snapped Jack. Damien chuckled again.

"But just think. When we find their planet and capture their race, we could make millions! They'd be the newest thing on the market, everyone would want one." He put his hands behind his back and watched Jack expectantly. "Join me. Become my business partner, and together we'll tame these animals and become the richest people in the whole wide world." Jack's eyes were wide.

"Y-you want me to work with you?" He exclaimed. Damien nodded and waited patiently for his answer. Jack looked at the men in suits and held Mark closer to his chest.

"It's not like you really have a choice," Damien suddenly said. He added with a grin, "Besides, I'm making the offer of a lifetime! Surely you wouldn't deny that, Jack?" Jack flinched. He didn't like this guy, but Damien was right. There was no way out of this, no way to escape.

"J-Jack..." Jack looked down at Mark. He was watching the giant; his eyes were half-open, and he looked so tired and frail. But he looked like he was trying to tell Jack that it was going to be ok. No. Jack's jaw set. No way am I letting this bastard near Mark or any of his friends, or people! Damien seemed to sense Jack's decision. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"This is my final offer," he said warningly. Jack took another step back when the agents advanced on him, and his back hit cold glass. He froze. "You could be more than just a celebrity." Damien walked closer. "You could be a god," he whispered. Jack's chest quivered with a shaky breath. He slowly walked over to Damien.

"A god, huh?" Damien nodded.

"Work alongside me, and you shall have unspeakable power. All I ask is for you to say one, teeny tiny little word: Yes."

"Yes?" Jack echoed. "Why that?" Damien's gaze felt like it was burning holes into the green-haired giant.

"To seal the contract, of course." Jack bit his lip.

"... And if I say no?" He ventured. Damien's gaze got dangerously dark.

"Then you will suffer the consequences." Jack swallowed and glanced at the waiting men. He looked at Damien and bit his lip.

"B-before anything else happens, I have something to say." Damien inclined his head.

"Of course," he said sweetly. Jack smirked.

"Go fuck yourself." He turned and broke into a run, and before the men could do anything he jumped and broke through the window. The glass shattered with a shriek and sparkled like snow, and Damien roared with fury.

"Find him!" He shouted. "I don't care if his neck is snapped on the rocks! Find him and bring him to me!" The men hurried away quickly. Damien stood there, breathing heavily for a few seconds before he recovered himself and looked out the window. He saw no broken body, only the cliff edge and the precipice of death. His lips curled back in anger, and with a growl he headed off.

And under the window, Jack was hanging onto a ledge. As soon as he couldn't hear anyone else, he grunted as he started to shimmy shammy to solid ground. In his pocket, Mark groaned at the swaying motion. "Sorry little duder," Jack panted, "But just a little more, and then-" His grip slipped. He yelped as he lost one hand on the ledge and dangled over the dangerous drop. He panicked until he managed to grab the ledge again. "That's the last time Jackaboyman is in action!" he muttered to himself, shaking like a leaf. He kept going, getting closer and closer, until finally he let go and sank his feet into soil. Solid ground.

He sighed in relief and dropped to his knees. "Phew." He gave himself a few seconds to relax, and then he peeked in his pocket. "You ok, Mark?" Mark groaned.

"I-I... I don't feel very good..." 

"I know," Jack soothed, "We're almost there, just hang on a little bit longer." He broke off into a jog and found his friends in the bushes where he left them.

"Jack!" Felix jumped the shorter giant and hugged him. Jack yelped when he almost lost his balance, then laughed in relief and hugged him back.

"Easy! Watch the pocket." Mat was smiling cheerfully, delighted, and Nate was on Mat's shoulder, sitting close to Cristina and quietly talking to her. On his other shoulder, Amy and Ethan sat, and Jordan and Tyler were in his pocket. And hovering behind him, Sam was holding the others on a little extended platform.

"Did Sam get you guys here safely?" Jack asked Signe. She nodded with a smile.

"He was a good boy." Sam chirped and wiggled shyly.

"Good," he chuckled. "What about Ken?"

"Ken?" Felix wrinkled his nose. "That sleazeball was outta here like there's no tomorrow." Jack couldn't help but laugh a little.

"He'll be all right."

"Where's Mark?" Amy asked quietly. "Is he ok?" Jack reached in his pocket and held Mark out. Amy's eyes widened. "Mark!" She clambered onto his hand and dropped at the engineer's side. "Mark? Mark." She gently shook him, and then cradled his head. His chest moved, and then his eyelids fluttered open. He stared, unfocused, for a few seconds, but then his eyes settled on Amy. He widened his eyes and smiled tiredly, tearing up.

"Amy?" Amy laughed in relief and kissed him. "A-Amy!" He kissed back, grabbing her hand and squeezing it like he would never let go. "I'm so sorry," he breathed. "I'm so so sorry, this is all my fault, I should have found you sooner, I should have-"

"Sh-shut up, I already know." Amy grinned as tears streamed down both their cheeks, and they hugged. Mark grunted and got squeamish.

"Ow," he groaned.

"Oh, sorry." She touched his chest. "You're really hurt, aren't you? Oh, Mark..." She kept squeezing his hand, as if she didn't believe this was happening. "You shouldn't have put your life on the line like that, I'm not worth you getting killed over." Mark smiled.

"You're always worth it," he said firmly. As they hugged again, more carefully this time, Jack sniffed and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. Amy smiled up at him.

"Aww, big guy," she said kindly, "Are you crying?"

"No!" Mark let out a tired laugh. "Hey, it's nothing!" Jack rubbed his eyes busily. "I-I just got something in my eye!" He insisted.

"Really? What?"

"TEARS!!!" They all laughed.

"We should get out of here before they find us," Felix reminded.

"Right." Mat looked at the facility, then over at Sam. "So why did you get a septic eyebot?" He asked.

"Long story, I'll tell you on the way." Once Mark and Amy were situated in his chest pocket, he turned to his hoverboard. "Let's just get you guys home, safe and sound."