Magenta eyes shone in the soft light of the quarter-moon. The sleek alien body slid along the shadows, becoming a part of them and making them part of him.
Two hundred years of training brought him here; to a lowly planet with even lower creatures. Zim wasn't considered among the top Invaders, but still, he had been given a chance and he meant to make the most of it. Perhaps after this 'Earth' he would be promoted to a higher planet, such as 'Dirk' of the wolf-people, or 'Lammenas' of the insectoid species.
Zim had been watching one house in particular, because of its high frequency and electrical output. He stood across the street from this house now, crouched in some Earth-plants and taking note of every detail of the dwelling place. He had been here four times now, and had on several occasions seen the human males and female that inhabited it. Humans. The name was the extent of his knowledge about this species, aside from the fact that they were intelligent enough to use technology, however faulty and simplistic it may be in comparison to his own.
The human male was now in a shut-down mode, so it seemed to Zim. He had turned the lights off two hours ago, and there had been no activity in the house since.
Zim began to creep across the road, keeping an eye out for the fast-moving Earth vehicles.
He moved around behind the house and used a small knife from his belt to pry open the simple lock on the door. He had clipped the alarm system the night before and no one seemed to have noticed, possibly because no one had given the alarm reason to sound and thus alerting the humans to the fact that it is broken. Although, by that time it would be too late.
The door swung open on silent hinges and Zim moved with cat feet, slipping inside and pausing to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. His antennae twitched and turned, listening, picking up the faint hum of electricity, the breathing of the occupants upstairs. Three humans. Easy enough.
He found the stairs as if he had been there before and ascended them swiftly, intent on securing the humans before exploring the house, just in case other alarms should be in place. It was imperative not to be caught here.
He paused at the top of the steps, glancing down as the floor suddenly turned plush. He crouched, running a gloved hand over the carpet curiously. 0dd.
A noise from one of the rooms drew his attention and he slipped around the corner of the stairs, crouching down on the top two steps and listening close. The noise did not repeat itself and after awhile he crawled back up to the floor, peering down the hall.
Empty.
The Irken, crouched, slid along the wall and touched the nearest door, sensing the life behind it. The door wasn't closed, merely pushed to, and he very slowly pushed it open enough to peer inside.
Gaz was sleeping as peacefully as one can expect in her bed, back to the door as she didn't really expect any kind of alien attack in her house at two in the morning. She shifted and snored and Zim nearly bolted, but forced himself to stay where he was. He watched her sleep for a long while, assessing this unusual condition. It seemed not a shut-down mode, but some other type of inactive state that kept them from reacting to subtle environment changes, such as himself.
When he was sure she would not spring up and attack him, he turned and continued on towards the main source of electrical output.
Dib's door was closed and locked firmly, and the Irken cursed silently as he drew his knife again. He began very carefully prying at the lock, flinching at every scrape and sound that seemed so loud to him, yet nearly inaudible to humans, should any have been listening.
The lock clicked, making the alien tense up, eyes wide until nothing happened. He turned the handle and opened the door slowly, antennae nearly slicked against his bare skull in anticipation. He heard the human female shift in her room.
Zim finally opened the door enough to slip inside the room, still in his uncomfortable crouched position. He looked at the male resting in his bed, back also to the door. Seemed harmless enough, even should he awaken. Humans, from what Zim could tell so far, were only dangerous when in their vehicles, although they tend to be quite aggressive everywhere, mostly towards their own species and especially towards opposite genders of their own. For a lowly planet, Zim found these creatures quite interesting, and didn't really mind having been sent here to study them. At least they were entertaining.
He looked about the room at the various machines and gadgets, all thrumming quietly with energy and output. 0ne in particular seemed to hold a universe all its own, and he went to that.
The machine, much like his tablets yet far more crude and rudimentary, was in its own state of rest. Yet he understood this better, for it worked much like his own technology and, indeed, the machine he carried with him everywhere; the PAK on his back.
The Irken spent awhile looking over the computer before taking the dare to press a button. He had considered ending the inhabitants of the house, but thought that too mannerless and extreme for such a mission. He wasn't here to kill, simply observe and report.
The computer screen immediately brightened the room with a bright-blue screen before turning black again and running some numbers. Zim, frozen in place, quickly whipped his head around to the human male. He had not stirred, nor had his breathing changed. Zim looked back at the computer and picked up a piece of human clothing from the floor, draping it over the screen to hide all the light it gave off after powering up. He poked his head under the coat and attempted to read the strange alien language on the screen, but it did not make sense to him. He reached for the tablet at his belt with intent to connect it to the Earth computer and download the language so he could ponder it later.
He wasn't given the chance, however, as something heavy came down over his shoulders, driving him to the floor. Zim scrambled in the darkness, turning to his back and kicking out to push himself against the wall quickly. He could feel a rapid thrumming in the room, but he wasn't sure if it was his own heart or that of his attacker, or both.
The coat slipped off the computer and he looked up at the human male standing over him with a thick, rounded-off wooden object clutched in his hands. Zim quickly reached for his own weapon, but the male snarled something and hit him over the head. He fell to his side and blinked sharply as his thoughts seemed to spin away from him. The human kicked him against the wall and raised the bat again. Zim flinched and tried to cover his head, feeling wetness soak quickly through his gloves and not realizing until later it was his blood.
The human shouted something towards the door and then spoke directly to Zim. The Irken blinked rapidly and looked up at him in terror, not understanding. He tried to push himself up, but the human raised the bat again and he sank back against the wall.
Another human male, larger and somehow more commanding than this one, entered the room and turned on the light. Zim narrowed his eyes against the harsh artificial glare and lowered his antennae against the raised voices exclaiming over him.
He extended a mechanical leg from his PAK and swung at the younger male, taking his legs from under him and knocking him down. The older male quickly moved forward and snatched up the bat, bringing it down heavily on Zim's shoulder. The Irken yelped in pain and swung at him, hitting him across the chest hard enough to knock him down.
With both humans trying to recover themselves, Zim jumped up, swayed as the room spun away from him for a moment, and then snatched the knife from his belt. The younger human got up, eyes on his father in a moment of worry. Zim quickly grabbed him by the throat and pulled him against himself. The human's thin form fit almost perfectly in his arms as he pressed him close and brought the knife to his throat, wrapping his other arm around Dib's chest. The human's heart beat rapidly against his arm as he dragged him towards the door, facing the older human.
The father said something quickly, face taught in fear now. He reached out a hand and Zim shouted at him in Irken, swaying and keeping his hostage tight against himself. The young male was nearly as tall as Zim, making him hard to hold onto.
Zim began dragging him towards the door slowly, awkwardly. He'd never done this before, but the situation called for it and so he was willing to try. He had no real intent to hurt the human unless provoked.
The father said something else, quieter now and still holding out a hand. He seemed to be begging, and Zim growled back threateningly in his own language.
He reached the door and considered throwing the human forward and darting away, but if the downstairs door were locked now, he would need a way out. He took another step back, forcing the youth to come with him.
Zim was about to break away when he felt a pain subtly enter his right side. He blinked in confusion and saw something like victory in the father's eyes. Things began to fall apart in his head, pain spreading, and he dropped the knife. The young human broke away from him, turning quickly to yell at him and something behind him.
The alien fell against the wall hard, hurting his shoulder on the impact as he struggled to stay upright. The human female stepped around, knife green with his blood. She snarled at him as he fell to his knees.
The last thing he saw was the three humans closing in on him, speaking rapidly to one another until his consciousness winked out and left him in darkness.