Dib, the Tallest
By: Ket & Kyone
A/N: I am watching Invader Zim as I write this. Yes. I like Invader Zim, and I've had an idea for a while. Plus I found some good pics at deviantart. P.S. This is set a few years after the still has the weird hair though, and Zim is based on a Zim drawn by sparou on deviantart.
How long had it been since I first bothered the green-skinned boy? One month? Two? Or had it been years? The last time I checked, the boy hadn't been that tall. The first time I tried to catch the "alien", the other boy was small enough to fit into the smallest section of his seat in his underground lab.
Now, though…now, his legs were so long that he had to stretch fully over the seat, his back curving gently as he lay there, one leg swinging over the side of it. He had to fix it, since he hadn't planned to stay at Earth for so many years. He had planned to be back with the rest of the Irken Empire before he reached maturity. None of the invaders were allowed to grow taller than the Almighty Tallest.
The Tallest were the leaders of the Empire, hitting about six feet in height. On average, the Invaders were about two feet in height. When they hit maturity of sixteen years, they hit a tremendous growth spurt and shot up several feet. It would differ depending on the Invader. Zim looked to be about five nine now. A smile lit the alien's face as he typed in a few keys on the "keyboard" of his computer.
"Dib, dad says it's time for dinner. Come and eat." My sister's voice broke my concentration. I sighed, getting up from the wheeled office chair I had bought with my own money. I had something of a job now. Since I was seventeen, it was expected of me.
Dad was hardly around anyways, and Gaz usually was at someone's house. This was one of those rare "all the family" meals. I followed the fifteen-year-old downstairs, sighing again when I saw the floating screen. Looks like dad was working late again.
"So…what's tonight's meal?" I dare not say my sister's name. She and I had gotten into a fight a month or so ago, and it was a bad one. We actually came close hitting one another. I knew that she held no interest for males of any sort (especially me) and she knew I held little interest in females.
"Some new thing from dad's work. Its called 'Food in a tube' and its different kinds of meals in tubes." She picked one up and read the label. "What do you want? We have spaghetti and meatballs, meat loaf, ham and cheese sandwich, and…" She read the last label. "Nachos. Pick your poison."
She picked up the tube of ham and cheese sandwich, started "eating" it, and walked out. That left me with meatloaf, spaghetti or nachos. Shrugging, I picked up the nachos tube and started to "eat". It was pretty good, for a tube meal. I'd give it that.
"How is your meal?" The screen questioned, getting rather close. I typed a few keys on the keyboard and walked out. I knew my sis was in her room, packing her bag. I wondered who she was staying with tonight, but I didn't ask.
I headed back to my room and opened the window of the bot spying on Zim. Heh. Looked like he was eating his evening meal as well. Part of my mind wondered what he was eating; another part wondered where the little robot was; a third part wondered if his security system had been updated at all.
"Computer, upload the live feed from camera six." His voice had changed too. Instead of being nasal and annoying, it was now…kinda hot. I shook my head. I didn't need to think such things as that about the enemy. His fingers were longer too. He'd be great at guitar…
"Going to Zeeta's. Back in…who cares." Gaz told me, standing in my doorway.
"See ya. Try not to hurt anyone this time." I waved a hand, not taking my eyes off the screen.
"Hmph…if your gonna kidnap and fuck him, then hurry up and do it." I turned bright red and turned to her.
"What makes you think I'm gonna do that?!" I stuttered, quickly closing the window.
"The fact that you've been watching him obsessively since you were ten. That's seven years, in case you forgot how to do math." She smirked. "I've seen your grades. So hurry up and bag him if your gonna. His disguises are getting better. Someone else may get him first, if you're too slow." She smirked that evil smirk again and left. She got me thinking. She was right. His disguises were getting better. Now he had more than just lenses and hair. Now, he had full outfits and shoes and…piercings.
I hit a few keys on the keyboard again and Zim's picture popped up. The pic started to rotate, and I hit another key for it to pause. I had a perfect full front view of the green skinned Irken, and I smiled, hitting another key. The screen went out of focus, then came back into focus. Now the boy on the screen wore only a towel at his waist, the bottom edges reaching about halfway on his thighs.
The flesh remained green along his entire body, though it lightened where his clothes were. The outfits he wore now were more gothic, most of them black and baggy. One piercing went through the right side of his bottom lip, another in his tongue. One pierced his left nipple, a small barbell in his belly button. I knew that anyone could remove them, since I had seen the boy do it several times in the locker room before taking a shower. The two of us were more alike than we knew.
Both of us were outcasts, talking to three or less people. Both of us disliked contact with others. Both of us had something, robotic, organic, or inanimate, that we spoke to. Both of us waited until everyone else had left to take a shower after P.E. Both of us disliked any physical sport, but loved competition.
"Master, there is someone at the door." My computer bleeped, alerting me to the visitor. I sighed as I stood, popping my back before I went to the front door. I peered through the peephole to see Zim standing on my front porch. Why the hell was he here? I opened the door.
"Zim? Why are you here?" I opened the door wide and showed him in. His current outfit was smoldering and did I smell burning hair? I saw smoke rising off of him and I grew slightly worried.
"My computer didn't recognize me and set off a self destruct in GIR. I was trying to get in and the parent bots wouldn't let me in. They kept saying I was an intruder and were trying to throw me out. GIR was busy hugging on me and he went ka-blooey." He gestured with his hands as he sat at my dining room table. I shook my head as I offered him a soda. He took it and popped the top.
"That sucks man. Are you okay? I don't want my enemy to be blown up by someone other than me." I drank some of my own soda and heard him sigh.
"I'm fine. I simply am wondering when my lab will be done repairing itself." He drank some of his own soda. For lack of anything better to do, I set down my soda and dug in the cabinets to find something to munch on. The food in a tube thing kept me full for a while, but I had a pretty fast metabolism.
"Want anything? I think I have some pretzels stashed in here somewhere…" I dug a little deeper and missed his answer. I emerged a moment later, holding a bag of mini-twist pretzels in my left hand. "Aha! I found them!" I smiled a little as I tore them open, one hand slipping in to grab a handful of the salty snacks.
"What do those taste like?" The alien questioned, staring suspiciously at the bag. I smiled as I tossed a couple to him. He caught them in the air and sniffed them.
"Try them and you'll see." I smiled a little and ate another one. The alien popped it into his mouth and slowly chewed. After a moment, he swallowed. "Well? Is it good?" His head slowly tipped up, then down in a nod.
"Better than I was expecting." He replied, holding his hand out for more. I smiled and shook the bag over his hand, letting a few pretzels fall out. He popped a couple into his mouth and ate them. "They are...delicious." He muttered before eating more.
"Told you." I muttered before shaking a few into my mouth before chewing them up.
"I was expecting them to make my mouth dissolve or something like that." He ate a couple. I shook my head, grinning.
"Nope. So...why didn't your computer recognize you?" I asked, seeing steam rising from his hair.
"I'm guessing it was the Tallest. If an Irken soldier or scout has not returned to the Armada before maturity, the Tallest hack the computers and let the computer do as it's programmed with the whole self destruct thing. I'm still wondering how in the hells GIR had that in him. I could've sworn it only worked with SIR's. I figured GIR was too far outdated." He spoke half to himself as he munched on a few more pretzels.
I ignored him as I dug in the fridge for another soda. Why was my throat so dry? I reached in and snagged two, offering one to him. He shook his head, holding up the first can I gave him. I shrugged again, popping the tab and taking a drink.
"Would you please help me reset the computer?" The boy asked me, making me choke a little on my drink. I wiped my chin before staring at him.
"You want me to what?" He glanced up at me, looking almost surprised at the soda still dripping down my chin.
"I am asking your help to reset my computer. It takes two people, and I have not finished my cloning device yet. Besides, clones need to be programmed and that will take far too long." He gestured with his hand like he always did, and I thought it over. A quote from long ago popped into my head. 'To defeat my enemy, I must first study my enemy, then I must become my enemy, then I must move in with the enemy, and wear my enemy's clothes then…' I had not finished the line for my sister had interrupted me.
"Alright. How long does it take to fix?" I asked, leaning casually against the kitchen counter.
"Four to six months." He replied, his tone normal, indifferent even. He ignored me as I spewed soda all over the kitchen floor, again. "But that's if the Irken has to completely reset and reprogram. I simply need to reboot and reprogram a few things. If we're lucky, it'll only take…two months." He sipped some more soda as I had the same dumbfounded look on my face. "Of course, that's if two Irkens did it properly. With our intellects, it should take four to six weeks."
"Alright. Will I be staying at your house during this time?" I was actually getting used to his surprises. The green, or shall I say white, skinned boy nodded his head.
"It shall be easier on the both of us. Do you mind?" I shook my head.
"That's why I asked." I told him, munching on a few more pretzels. He shrugged, drinking more soda.
"So when shall I prepare for you to stay?" He asked. I swallowed the soda in my mouth and shrugged.
"When do you want me over?" I asked back. He fell silent for a moment again and I remembered back in my childhood. I kept trying to prove that he had been an alien, but that was only to try and get his attention. The scene with me and my alien sleeve cuffs pushed forward and I sighed, shaking my head. I had changed so much since then...the difference was funny.
"What is so funny?" The boy asked, looking up at me. His eyes held suspicion, but I only found that even funnier.
"Memories." I told him, wiping an eye. I smiled at his confused look. "When I first met you. Kept trying to prove you were an alien. Remember the sleeve cuffs?" When he smiled softly, I knew he did.
"The Tallest tell me that you were doing that as some form of mating ritual." Soda spewed all over the tiled floor (yet again) as I gave him a look that said quite plainly: What?!
"Why did they say that?" I asked, heading to the sink to get a wet rag to clean up the spilled soda.
"They did not know much about the humans back then. Thanks to you we have several files filled with information." He shrugged his shoulders again and sipped some soda.
"I was glad to be of help..." I mumbled, slightly angered at the fact that I knew nothing of the files.
"I wished to tell you of them, but the Tallest told me to keep quiet. They said that if you found out about it, you'd stop providing us with information. We really needed something on Earth-a-noids." I smiled some, just a little, as he used his old word for earthlings.
"Next time you can tell me. I don't like not knowing about things." I drained the can and crunched it up before tossing it into the recycling bin. I walked out and after a moment, I heard footsteps. For some reason, I smiled.
"I was meaning to ask you...Might I stay the night here?" His voice was soft, as if he was afraid to ask me. I glanced back at him and saw that he kept his head down.
"Did your entire house blow up?" I asked him, pausing in the doorway to my room.
"Amazingly, no. But the rooms that survived...I am unable to sleep in." He kept his head bowed. A picture flashed into my head. Animals in the wild. Beta males would bow to the alpha, showing that they submitted to the alpha's will.
"Fine. I'll get a room set up for you." I told him, pressing my palm flat to the wall. A light flashed and a robot came zooming towards us.
"Yes, my master?" The voice was slightly robotic, but I chose to leave it that way. I had other choices, but hey, I'm lazy.
"Prepare the guest room. We have company staying over this evening." The bot bowed in midair. Dad never said I couldn't mimic his floating screen technology…
"Yes master. Right away." The robot zoomed down the hall and around a corner.
"Give him five minutes and he'll have your room ready." I told Zim. "He's one of my more advanced bots. Better reception of certain things." I tried to gesture with my hands, but gave up. "Is GIR gonna stay here as well?" I questioned. He shook his head.
"He blew up, remember?" Zim shook his head and muttered something under his breath. I turned a little red. My memory was usually a lot better. I heard quiet rumbling outside as the robot came zooming back to us.
"The room is prepared, master." He bowed again and I heard more rumbling.
"Is there a storm predicted tonight?" I asked the bot. He didn't answer for a minute, probably checking the weather report via wireless net.
"Sir, there is a prediction of a large thunderstorm, possibility of hail, two inches of rain, and heavy winds." He informed me. I nodded my head and waved him away. The bot bowed once more and zoomed into the basement to charge.
"You don't mind storms, do you?" I asked him. I had no problem with them, but I didn't know about him. When he bowed his head a little and started to rub at one arm, I knew his answer.
"I...had a bad experience with one at a young age..." He told me, his teeth tugging at his bottom lip. "I'm okay as long as I am not really close to a window."
"We're gonna have to move the bed then." I told him, walking down the hallway that the bot had left. He glanced around before catching up to me. "Hope you don't mind it." I commented, trying to get him to speak again. He shook his head, keeping his mouth shut. "Are you okay?" I asked, stopping a few feet from the door.
"I'm fine..." He mumbled, pushing past me to enter the room. He stood on one end of the full size bed and I walked slowly to the other. His hands curled under and I head the quiet, barely there rumble of lightning. I glanced out the window as we lifted the bed.
"Where do you want it?" I asked him, still watching for a flash of lightning to arc down. He didn't speak but looked to the opposite wall. I smiled gently, and we took slow, careful steps to move the bed. Once it was situated where he wanted it, thunder rumbled even closer. He glanced fearfully out the window as lightning arced down many miles away. Another rumble of thunder had him walking closer to me.
"It can't harm me…it can't harm me. I'm inside and it's out." He muttered to himself. I smiled a little and stayed still. He ducked behind me and his arm latched onto mine. "It cannot hurt me. I'm in, it's out." When had he gotten nails? I wondered as said body part dug into my arm.
"Dude, you okay?" I asked. His nails dug in deeper and he whimpered as lightning flashed closer. "Zim. It's fine. You can sleep in my room if you're that afraid." He didn't seem to hear me. I laid my hand lightly on his shoulder. "Zim." I spoke in a stern voice. He swung around, his fists raised, and caught me in the jaw. I fell to the ground and held my jaw. "Shit, Zim, calm down." I flexed my jaw, making sure it wasn't broken. He looked down at me, finally coming to his senses.
"I'm so sorry!" He sat down next to me, his hand moving mine and running over my jaw. "I didn't break it this time, at least." He spoke more to himself than to me. His hand was very soft...
"You okay? You hit me pretty hard." I glanced down at his hand.
"I'll be fine. We Irkens have a denser muscle and bone mass then you Earthlings." He flexed his hand and looked at it himself. "No harm done. Are you sure you're okay though?" He gestured to my cheek, where a bruise was forming. I waved him away.
"I'll be alright." I stood up and led him out of the room. "Since you freaked out that bad, you can sleep on the floor in my room. Sound a little better?" I had no idea what I was saying. 'You can always ask him to share the bed. Sounds SO much better then, doesn't it?' I shook away the voice in my head and got some pillows and blankets from my closet and spread them out on the floor. "The carpet is pretty thick, so it should be well padded. Let me know if you need anything." He nodded, then sat down and rearranged the bedding closer to my bed.
"Good night, tall one." Zim spoke, curling under his covers.
"Good night, Zim." I climbed into my own bed and crawled under the covers as well. I leaned up to shut off the light. "See you tomorrow."