Sean stayed huddled up on the seat, glancing out the tinted window. He had called the Slums his home for so long. Now looking at it, he felt like a stranger. It didn't feel possible. How had his perception of it changed so much? Cautiously his eyes drifted over to Mark. Mark was leaning over his legs, pulling splinters from his bleeding hand. Watching him for a minute, his heartbeat became steadier. Something about Mark was calming. Looking more closely at Mark's hand, he watched the blood leak down the sides and splatter against the black rug. Mark didn't appear to feel pain. Lifting his chin from his raised knees, he asked Mark in a fragile voice. "Why did you grab the bat... Don't you have a shield that-" Without looking up, Mark muttered out under his breath. "It doesn't work outside the city." Sean laid his head across his knees, asking him in a defeated voice. "Why did you come for me?" Mark finally looked up at him, answering in a serious tone. "Why wouldn't I?" Sean tried to hide a sniffle as he said shakily. "Because I ran... I'm like them..."

Mark huffed sarcastically, wrapping his hand up in a cloth from a kit he had retrieved from a compartment in the door. Sean turned fragile eyes on Mark, who told him without hesitation. "I've met a lot of Slum Dogs. You aren't like them." Sean shook his head, retorting in a wispy voice. "You're wrong..." Mark finished tying his bandage, before sternly telling him. "If you were. I would not have come for you." Passing through the gates of Valhalla, Sean hugged his legs tighter. Valhalla had so many rules that he didn't understand. What would they do to him after the raid at the Expo? The limo pulled into a familiar housing building and Sean hated that he felt safe. Mark rolled down the window to announce the floor and the platform took them up. Reaching their floor, Mark opened the door and told him to get out. Hesitantly, Sean moved to the car door. Upon reaching the door, Sean stopped. Glancing back at Mark, he saw him shifting to follow him. Stepping out, Sean covered his hard on. None of the Valkyries paid him any attention, but he still felt ashamed.

Standing in the lights of the car port, he could see the dirt and oil clinging to his pale skin. He was filthy. Mark stepped out behind him, removing what looked like a gun from under his jacket. Sean stiffened, watching him turn a dial on it until the light turned a soft pink. Mark cocked the top of the gun, locking it into place and exposing a thick needle like tip. Sean stepped away from him, stammering out. "What are you doing?!" Mark locked expressionless eyes on him, uttering out. "Working. Now stay out of the way." Mark turned to a Valkyrie and nodded. The Valkyrie backed up to the trunk and began to unlock it. Sean stepped forward, asking Mark nervously. "You're not going to hurt him, are you? Mark, let me talk to him. I can-" Mark turned dark eyes on him, causing Sean to stop talking. In a stern tone, Mark told him bluntly. "He'll get the same treatment you got... Until I can figure out what to do with him." Sean tried to grab Mark's arm, but he moved away to the trunk.

The second the trunk popped open; Nate kicked the Valkyrie in the chest. The Valkyrie toppled backward, causing others to rush in. Sean called out to Nate, but Nate was frantic. Nate rolled from the trunk wielding a rod he had found in there. Sean rushed forward, but Mark grabbed his arm to stop him. The Valkyries surrounded Nate and dodged his wild swings. Sean called his name, causing Nate to look in his direction. In that split second, the Valkyries grabbed Nate's arms and kicked his legs to force him to his knees. Sean struggled against Mark's grip, yelling out. "Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Mark shoved Sean back into the arms of another Valkyrie behind him, moving toward Nate casually. Sean thrashed and pleaded with Mark that he didn't have to do it. Mark didn't listen. Approaching Nate, a Valkyrie grabbed Nate's head to keep him from biting Mark. Mark brought the gun to Nate's neck and shot something into him with a hiss from the gun. Within seconds, Nate was acting groggy. The Valkyries loosened their grip, monitoring him as Nate fell into a sitting position and then slowly laid across the pavement.

Mark kneeled to check Nate's pulse, then told the Valkyries. Taking him to the playroom. Put him in a restraint jacket and a muzzle. Then throw him in the cage. I want him tagged and collared before he wakes up." Sean pulled at the Valkyrie holding him, shouting out at Mark as the other Valkyries picked Nate up. "You didn't have to do that! He's scared! You don't have to cage him!" Mark rose to face him, snapping out. "Shut up!" Storming up to him, Mark caused Sean to back up into the cold armor of the Valkyrie. Mark glared into his eyes, stating through clenched teeth. "You have no idea what your little stunt has done. Be thankful that I'm only putting him in a cage and not drowning him in it! We are all going to have do things we don't want to do... DEAL WITH IT!" Mark led the way into the house to help guide the Valkyries with Nate inside. The Valkyrie holding Sean released him by shoving him forward. Staggering forward, Sean turned to yell at him when he saw his bike was back in the parking spot. Mark had brought his bike back?

Rushing back into the house, he saw Amy give him a small wave from the kitchen. Running to the playroom, he got to the doorway just as they had finished shoving Nate into his old cage in the far corner. Mark thanked the Valkyries and they bowed to him before leaving. Mark stood by the cage, glaring at Nate's sleeping body. Sean waited until the front door clicked shut, before telling Mark softly. "Mark... I'm sorry." Mark glanced over his shoulder, then pointed toward the shower with his arm. Sean moved to the shower stall, his eyes never leaving Mark. Mark removed his jacket, revealing stab wounds and cuts that were bleeding. Sean gawked at how Mark removed his shirt. It was like he didn't know that he had them. As Mark approached the tile stall, Sean mumbled out breathlessly. "Mark... You're hurt..." Mark glanced down at the bleeding wounds, before raising his eyes back to his to answer gruffly. "They are not fatal." Sean swallowed, mumbling out in disbelief. "You put your life at risk for me?"

Mark reached out to grab Sean's throat, pushing him back against the tile wall carefully. Sean couldn't help putting his hands on Mark's arm, staring into his eyes with worry. Mark's fingers never tightened around his throat. He just held him back against the cold tile. Sean's breathing slowed as he whispered to him in a wispy voice. "Go ahead... I deserve it..." Sean felt tears leak down his cheeks. His emotions felt like they had shattered at his feet. He had failed his gang. He had failed Nate. He had failed Mark... but most importantly. He had failed himself. Everyone around him was hurting. He couldn't help feeling like he wasn't hurting enough. Mark's fingers pressed into his skin, but only enough to hold him still. Sean closed his eyes, waiting to be thrown or hit. Instead, he felt warm lips press against his. Sean tilted his head back with a whimper as Mark kissed him so tenderly. When Mark pulled his lips away slightly, he softly whispered to him. "You do deserve it. I should show you no restraint... I should make you bleed. But then I'd be like them... Now wouldn't I?"

Sean opened his eyes, feeling Mark's fingers loosen on his neck to drift down to simply press his palm against his chest to keep him pinned to the wall. Sean's chest rose and fell heavier with Mark's hand there. Could Mark feel how fast his heart was beating now? Mark hesitantly pressed his cheek to his, whispering in a deep voice. "Name the dogs that touched you... I'll kill them." Sean's heart skipped, but he swallowed and whispered out. "No... It's my fight. Not yours." Goosebumps sprang down Sean's skin from the gentle breeze of Mark's warm breath on his neck. Mark sighed softly through his nose, stating out in a deep soothing voice. "An attack on you is an attack against me. If I can't protect you... It makes me look bad." Sean shook his head subtly, whispering back stubbornly. "No. I can take care of myself..." Mark's free arm moved to turn on the shower, causing Sean to jerk a little as the cold water splashed his ankles. Mark's other hand turned over on Sean's chest, letting his knuckles slide down between his pectoral muscles as he told him in a smooth but sarcastic tone. "I can see that."

As the warm water ran down Sean's leg, he gasped and grabbed Mark's shoulder. Mark slowly turned his head until his forehead touched Sean's temple. Mark clearly was concerned with why Sean had grabbed his hurt shoulder, but he was acting so calm. Sean's hand shook a little as he struggled to get out. "Mark... Please. I... I don't want to be touched. I was..." Sean couldn't say it. If he said it, it would make it real. Turning his head away, he lowered his hands to claw the tile wall. Mark stepped back, but his hand kept sliding over his skin as he told him casually. "Turn around." Sean shook his head, his jaw shaking enough that he had to clench his teeth to keep it from showing. Mark took his forearm gently, coaxing him to turn around. Reluctantly facing the tile, Sean pressed his forehead to it and whined out. "Mark... Please..." Sean's hands rose up to shoulder level to claw the cold tile wall. Closing his eyes like this brought flashes of the men behind him, causing him to yelp and smack the wall with his hands. For a split second, his brain had forgotten where he was.

Behind him, Mark shushed him and wrapped an arm around his stomach. Holding him back against him. Sean shook his head; he couldn't do this. He could barely breathe. Grabbing Mark's arm around his stomach, Sean stammered out desperately. "No... I-I can't... Mark... You feel like them..." Mark hummed close to his ear, his hand stroking slow and loving along his side. Sean pressed his forehead to the cold tile, whispering shakily. "Please..." Over his shoulder, Mark soothingly told him. "If I let you go. You'll run and hide yourself away. You'll let their poison burn into your flesh. You wanna get rid of their poison? You've got to cleanse yourself of it." Sean swallowed, mumbling out over his shoulder. "It's too late... I can feel them." Mark held him closer, coolly asking. "Where do you feel them?" Sean shivered, uttering out in a broken voice. "Everywhere..." Mark moved the shower head closer, spraying warm soap over his leg. Sean shuffled his feet, while Mark gave him the shower head. Sean's hand shook, unable to keep the shower head steady. Mark didn't release it, until after whispering into his ear. "Wash them off you. They want you to remember them. They want you to be afraid of them. Because if you're afraid... They'll know they have enough power over you to do it again."

Mark released the showerhead, then added nicely. "What happened to you was awful. But there was nothing you could do against a gang like that. So, why dwell on something you couldn't control. You can let this tear you down and break you... Or you can keep fighting. But trust me when I tell you that blaming yourself... It only hurts you in the end. And trying to hide it doesn't stop it from happening to someone else." Sean's hand slowly stopped shaking as his grip tightened on the showerhead. Mark pet Sean's back, teasing back just a little. "You say this isn't my fight... but if don't stand up for yourself. How do you expect others too?" Sean turned slightly to look back at Mark with gentle eyes. Mark backed up more, his gruff voice returning as he told him seriously. "Clean yourself up." Sean opened his mouth to say something, but Mark quickly turned and walked away. Turning back to face wall, Sean began to clean himself in silence. While washing down his front, Sean froze. Wrapping his fingers around the chain still around his neck, he inhaled deeply. He had never taken off Mark's training collar... but the people in the Slums hadn't known what it was. Was that why Mark had acted so strangely?

Sean glanced over at Mark, who was taking a washcloth to Nate's bleeding face. Even if Mark didn't like Nate, he was still cleaning him up. Finishing his shower, he hung up the showerhead and called Mark's name softly as he peeked over the low wall. Mark finished cleaning most of Nate, looking over at him as he asked curiously. "Are you finished?" Sean nodded, then blushed. There was one obvious part of him that wasn't finished. Mark locked up Nate's cage, removing a towel from a shelf. As he moved around to hand it to him, Sean swallowed nervously and asked in a hesitant voice. "Mark... About the ring?" Just mentioning it had Sean crossing his legs with a blush. Mark's eyes dropped to look, making Sean cover himself with the towel. Without judgement, Mark coolly asked. "What about it?" Sean licked his lips, mumbling out to the floor. "Can you loosen it? It's uncomfortable..." Mark raised a hand to lift his chin, looking him in the eyes as he said casually. "Will you let me touch you?"

Mark's thumb brushed over Sean's split lip tenderly. Sean looked into Mark's soft teddy bear brown eyes, finding himself answering breathlessly. "If you're gentle and you're just touching." Mark's thumb parted his lips and he started to lean in, whispering back a little breathless himself. "How do you feel about kissing?" Sean smirked to himself. Was Mark jealous? Sean tilted his head back to welcome his kiss. He had enjoyed the kiss before his shower. He wanted that again. Mark brought his lips over Sean's when his watch began to speak aloud in Amy's soft voice. "DNA analysis from shower drain confirmed. Faint traces of Bradley Redden. Trenton Hammer. Derek DeLane. Oscar Fate. All of them members of The Red Cyclones detected. Plus, large amounts of DNA from a Nathan Sharp from the Toxic Glow Skull was also detected." Sean's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Mark slowly pulled back before his lips had touched Sean's. His grip tightening on Sean's throat to keep him from going anywhere.

Staring into Sean's eyes, Mark growled out through his teeth. "Now isn't that interesting." Panic set into Sean as he tried to say in a rush. "Mark, I can explain-!" Mark's eyes turned almost black in the dark room as he growled out through his teeth. "Don't! I think I can piece this together myself. So just tell me... Did you fuck him?" Sean was afraid to lie in case he had something that could tell him otherwise. So, he reluctantly admitted. "Yes. And I'm glad I gave it to him before they got me..." Mark's hand struggled to stay loose at his throat as he yanked him closer and sneered out. "It wouldn't have happened if you had stayed. Now I know why you wanted me to bring him back with us..." Sean glanced over at Nate. He was still out cold. Looking back to Mark, he started to say. "No. Mark, you've got it wrong... I-" Mark released him and quickly hefted him over his shoulder. Sean squealed as Mark carried him from the room. Fearing Mark's sudden mood change, Sean pleaded out over Mark's shoulder. "Mark?! Wait! I can explain!"

Mark carried him into Sean's room, tossing him roughly across the bed. Sean bounced off the bed from the force of it, but staggered up onto his feet with the help of the wall as he shot back in terror. "Mark?! What are doing?!" Without a word, Mark turned on his heel to leave, grabbing the door to close him in. Sean leapt over the bed, screaming out as the door shut to lock him in. "MARK?! DON'T HURT HIM! PLEASE! I FORCED HIM TO DO IT!" To Be Continued...