(AN)Here we are, just a little idea that popped into my head. I've written out some more things for this, and I haven't quite decided how it's going to end yet, but this chapter is up for your viewing. Hopefully this will help clear out my head of some ideas so I can focus on new ones.

One Blind Mouse

"This is it," Dib whispered to himself. He was barely able to contain the adrenaline rushing through him. It was the same feeling every time he snuck into Zim's base. There was the sitting all day in skool as the clock struck each wonderful, agonizing second; drawing him closer to the night. The time spent preparing his equipment after skool, maybe watching an episode of Mysterious Mysteries to try and keep his mind from becoming overly giddy. Then, finally, he would deem it the right time and head out.
Sitting in the bushes across from Zim's house, he'd carefully scan the area. His gaze was so intense, so focused, he could spot ants moving on Zim's doorstep, and he would have sworn he could count them all and name their species, too. Such was his confidence in himself and his attention to detail. That's what would win this war against Zim - not superior technology or strength, but attention to detail.
If he could map out everything the alien did, how he did it, why he did it....then he could predict anything Zim would throw at him. His victory would be assured.
And now those thoughts made Dib restless. He shuffled his feet, tensed and relaxed groups of muscles, testing their readiness. His observation of the house led him to believe Zim was inside, but GIR had left about fifteen minutes ago - leaving the door wide open...
Dropping the binoculars, he raced quickly across the street, then along the row of fence until he reached Zim's walkway. The safe path through the gnomefield had been burned into his brain long ago, and he swiftly moved through them, not even needing to think about it. He stayed low to the ground, keeping out of the sensor paths. He made it to the door and placed his back firmly against the wall beside it. He held his breath.
Adrenaline made his entire system sharpen. It tingled as it awaited his orders, but he stood, listening carefully. Only the sounds of the TV could be heard. It was rare that Zim sat silently in front of the TV, especially if the door was wide open. Deeming it safe, Dib peered around the corner. He spotted no Zim and nothing out of the ordinary. Entering the house, he quietly closed the door, knowing that if Zim had an alarm hooked to that it would now be shut off; Zim would merely think GIR had come back, and Dib could continue unworried.
But he was more clever than that. He moved by the wall of the living room, sliding along it, staying behind objects as much as possible, just in case. In the past, he'd tried to quickly sneak in and go as far down in the labs as possible. He had always been caught. Thinking his strategy over, he had decided the slow and cautious might work better. Since then he'd been able to sneak in and out of the main level twice and into the first level of lab once. He'd then bragged to Zim the next day at skool, but the alien didn't believe he could have done it. That proved to him that his new strategy was correct - and he had smirked at the alien before walking off.
He smirked now as he went to a secret entrance into Zim's lab. He wouldn't take the elevator. There was a chance that it would alert Zim it was moving. Instead, he found the entrance that merely led to a ladder of sorts. Dib suspected it was in case of power outtages or something. He quickly made his way to the first lab-level. Once there, he hid again behind a large piece of machinery and listened carefully.
It was so tedious... All this caution ate away at him, making him long for a chance to just jump out and yell "I'm here, alien! What do you think of that?" But that wouldn't help him win in the long run. He needed to be patient, even if it did make anxiousness build in his stomach until he thought he would have to throw up just to ease the pain of holding it in.
No strange sounds...just machinery. He took a deep breath as he finally began moving again. His muscles quivered with anticipation of what he might find. He knew this level held only computers with basic functions and a room that Dib hadn't been able to gain access to. He'd taken his time on his first visit and made a little map of this level. Since he'd studied that map at home, he easily made his way through to the next ladder entrance. From there he moved down to the second lab level.
"Wow.." he whispered, noticing a few very large computers and screens. For a moment he just stood there in awe, then he heard a little clanking noise and dove behind a computer console, silently cursing himself for letting his guard down like that. He sat, trying to listen for any signs of the Irken... Unfortunately, he was getting a little bored. It was a thrill to sneak into Zim's lab, but he almost felt like it wasn't a challenge anymore. I mean, here he was - Level 2 - and no opposition whatsoever. Thankfully there was still the desire to see the Irken technology, to try and discover exactly how much knowledge Zim had.
Dib pulled a CD out of his bag and peered around the edge of his hiding space. No sign of movement. No sign of the Irken. He quickly moved to the computer and began pressing keys. His knowledge of computers allowed him to find basic things, even if everything was in Irken. Unfortunately, he couldnt read the file names...
He popped the CD in anyway and began copying things to it. It didn't matter what; anything would help him figure out Irken writing at home. He continued looking around, being very careful of every noise, every movement, and even the very changes in the air flow of the room. There was no way he wanted to get caught this far down.
But each second that went by his confidence grew. He had made it into the lab, was copying data, and Zim had no clue.
'Oh yeah..I'm the superior one alright..' Dib's mind congratulated him. He began to grow more at ease in the room. The adrenaline began to fall, leaving just his normal curiosity. The thing Dib forgot to realize was - with the adrenaline went the sharpened senses. He was still listening a little, but he'd stopped looking around. His mind had also slowed down. Instead of running through all the possible emergencies and escape routes it focused on what data he might be copying.
He began to think Zim wasn't home at all as he slipped the now full CD back into his bag. Still, it wouldn't do to go down further this time. That hadn't been part of his original plan. And if he got caught it would end his bragging rights. He walked to the ladder, not quite stupid enough to try the elevator just yet. On the first level, he didn't even bother to stop and listen. He just walked on through, hands in his jean pockets. He climbed the final stairs up to the house. Upon leaving the ladder, he stood up and froze.
"Hello, DIB." Zim said with an evil smirk. "Nice night for espionage, isn't it?"
Dib just took a step backwards. The doors and windows now had metal over them. Zim stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the room, tons of lights arranged behind him.
"It's also a nice night," Zim added. "For a game. A game of... cat and mouse."
Dib started to step back again, but the lights behind Zim suddenly grew impossibly bright. Pain seared through Dib's eyes, and he brought his hands up to cover them. It was too late, though. He'd been temporarily blinded. He then felt something pressed against his forehead - the small spot right above his nose. It dug in sharply, and he cried out as he fell backwards. Adrenaline was racing through him again, but this time his mind too overloaded with fear to think logically. His muscles waited for his orders, quivering in preparation. All he could do was back up until he hit the wall. He clawed at his forehead, feeling the little metallic thing embedded there. He pulled at it, hearing Zim's insane laughter fill the room. Suddenly there was a current of air on him. He felt a hand land on his shoulder, the other one taking hold of the metal piece.
"Only I prefer blind mice." Zim said evilly. He pulled on the metallic thing, ripping it from Dib's forehead. The boy let out a loud cry of pain and raised a hand, feeling the blood flowing out. He felt it getting in his eyes, but it didn't matter. They weren't working anyway. He tried glancing every which way; his hands moved over his eyes as he tried to find if they were even open. Finally his surroundings of complete darkness and Zim's evil laughter made it clear that what he feared was true - the alien had blinded him.