Kari sat, wide eyes fixed on the baby that every now and then exploded. She felt like running away screaming. The replacement must be coming soon. Mrs Parr had said she'd call in a replacement and he'd come soon, he had to!
Remembering a book she'd once read she muttered the words, "I wish the Goblins would come and take you away. Right Now!" There was a flash of light. 'Oh great he's exploded again' she thought preparing the fire extinguisher but when she looked instead of seeing a fiery demon she saw a completely normal Jack-Jack sitting at the foot of the weirdest guy she'd seen. His pants were way too tight and his hair was fashioned in some bizarre style but she really didn't care…
"You him aren't you? You're the replacement babysitter!"
Jareth froze in the middle of doing his knowing smirk and frowned. Was that right?
"Thank goodness! Take care now. Bye!" Kari raced from the house. Jareth looked down at the innocently gurgling baby in confusion.
"That was easy. Oh well…" he picked Jack-Jack up and vanished, re-appearing in his throne room.
"What was that all about?" he murmured holding up the baby. His mismatched eyes were searching it for some sort of hideous deformity or something of that nature when it exploded. Yelping in shock, Jareth dropped it. He immediately summoned up some cushions to break its fall but it just slipped straight through them.
"What the…?" Jareth exclaimed and appeared in the next layer down of the castle to see the baby floating off down the hallway. All right, the kid was powerful. Maybe he could use that, make the baby his heir since Sarah had cleared off.
"Baby," he called loudly, forgetting the name. Jack-Jack floated up through the ceiling and disappeared into the room above. Sighing Jareth transported himself into the same room.
"Oh no!" They were in the Escher room. Jareth strode along the staircases until he reached Jack-Jack who was sitting on a ceiling but just as Jareth reached him he vanished and rematerialized on a nearby platform.
After a few moments of chasing the baby Jareth began to know exactly how Sarah felt. He was thoroughly exhausted. Unable to stand it any longer Jareth tossed a crystal at the baby. Jack-Jack was trapped inside for the time being. Jareth transported them both back to the throne room. Using the last ounce of his strength he put a spell around the room that'd prevent Jack-Jack from escaping. Then he collapsed, his magic giving out. The crystal popped and Jack-Jack was free…
(Two hours later)
Jareth stared at the utter devastation the kid had wrought. The walls were stained black with soot and the floor was a mess. Jareth himself was less than immaculate, with singed clothes and a dishevelled appearance.
"I give up!" His sanity almost cracking, he teleported them back to the house where a guy wearing a decidedly weird outfit was standing. Jareth didn't care how weird this guy looked he just thrust the, now sleeping, Jack-Jack into his arms, growling, "You must be the replacement babysitter. Thank goodness." Then dissolved in front of the astonished Syndrome's eyes muttering, "I quit! That is the last baby I take on demand!"
Syndrome looked at the sleeping baby in confusion. "That was easy"…