AN: Well, this is the first chapter of my new story. As many of you can probably tell by the title, I got my inspiration for this story from that one joke in the Lab Cat episode. It made me wonder what it would be like if the main characters really did go into space and become pirates. The answers will be revealed in this story.

Chapter 1

Mark Returns

It was 4 in the morning, but everyone in the castle was awake. Dr. Fox woke up her friends extremely early because she had something in her lab that she really wanted to show everyone. Unikitty and her friends made their way down to the lab, feeling tired from the lack of sleep.

"Why couldn't Dr. Fox have waited until tomorrow to tell us what she is working on?" Richard yawned, desperately wanting to go back to bed.

"Maybe Dr. Fox just built something that is so cool and awesome, she just can't wait to show us!" Puppycorn guessed. "What do you think, sis?"

"I think Dr. Fox has a fun surprise to show us!" Unikitty replied. "Wouldn't it be amazing if she just made a machine that can make your favorite kind of candy at any time you want? That would be the best invention ever!"

"Well, whatever it is, we are about to find out." Hawkodile explained as everyone approached the door to the lab.

The door slid open to reveal Dr. Fox who was standing right next to her covered up invention. "Hey, everyone! Sorry for waking you up so early! I just couldn't wait to show you what I just built."

"It must be very impressive if it's worth waking us up at 4 in the morning." Richard retorted.

"Oh, it is! Behold!"

At that moment, Dr. Fox then took the cover off of her invention. Once it was revealed, the group of friends were shocked out of their sleepy states. Towering right above then was a giant rocket with a blinking red light at the front. "Greetings, friends! It's good to see you again!" the rocket spoke.

"Mark!" Unikitty and Puppycorn gasped in surprise, happy to see their friend again.

"Who?" Hawkodile and Richard asked in unison.

"Oh right! Neither of you have met him." Unikitty realized. "Mark is a rocket that Dr. Fox built to help us get a gum ball sample from Tasty's Comet!"

"But, didn't Mark blow up after crashing into the comet?" Puppycorn asked.

Dr. Fox nodded in response. "You would be correct in thinking that, Puppycorn, but I was able to rebuild him while also giving him a couple of enhancements. He is now the Comet Chaser Mark 2! This is why I called all of you in here. With Mark's new upgrades, we can travel deeper into space and discover the unknown! So, what do you say? Would you like to come with me on a space adventure?"

"No. I'm going back to bed." Richard said before he turned to leave.

Before Richard got far, he was stopped by his friends at the last second.

"Richard, wait! Why don't you come with us?" Unikitty tried to reason with her royal adviser. "It won't be fun if you are by yourself in the castle."

Richard took a moment to think about Unikitty's offer before he replied, "Well, I suppose someone needs to keep an eye on all of you during this space trip. Alright. I will come with you."

"Great! Let's all meet back here in a couple of hours so we can prepare for our space adventure!" Dr. Fox smiled before she turned to perform some last minute repairs for Mark.

After a couple of hours, Unikitty and her friends were fully rested and were ready to go into space. Everyone entered the rocket and they were impressed by what they saw. Unikitty and Puppycorn were especially surprised because it felt really big compared to the last time they were in the rocket. There were more seats to be found and there were more buttons to control Mark with.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Unikitty stared in amazement at all of the improvements. "You have really outdone yourself this time, Dr. Fox!"

"Thank you, Unikitty! Ever since Mark exploded, I have been working hard everyday to restore him to his former glory." Dr. Fox explained. "Now, let's take our seats! Mark should be taking us into space any minute."

Soon everyone sat down, feeling excited about going into space. "This is going to be awesome!" Hawkodile shouted out. "I'm so pumped for our space adventure!"

A few minutes have passed, but Mark still did not take off, leaving everyone confused.

"Uh, shouldn't we be in space by now?" Puppycorn asked.

"Mark, what are you waiting for?" Dr. Fox asked, impatiently.

"I believe that there is more than enough space inside me." Mark explained. "There is no reason for me to do anything else."

"No, Mark! I didn't say we needed more space in here! I said I wanted you to take us into space!" Dr. Fox argued.

"Oh! My bad!"

This made Dr. Fox let out a frustrated sigh. Despite all of the upgrades she gave to her rocket, it was still no easier for her to communicate with him. "Just forget it! Can you just start the countdown, please?"

"Very well!" Mark complied before starting the countdown. "Initiating countdown! 5,4,3,2,1. Blast off!"

With the countdown finished, the engine activated and Mark took off into the sky. It wasn't long before Unikitty and her friends saw the stars of space. They were very excited to begin their space adventure, but nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to encounter.