Disclaimer: Invader Zim does not belong to me. It belongs to our Almighty Tallest Jhonen Vasquez.

Chapter I: Just Another Doom-Filled Day

"It's done! I'm genius, GENIUS I TELL YOU!" A maniacal laugh erupted, echoing within the large facilities containing a vast array of alien technology. Zim rubbed his hands together as he cackled to himself, typical of a villainous character. "Today's the day, Gir. Nothing will stop me from conquering this miserable planet now!"

The green alien marveled at his own work before him, caught in his own daydream to rule the Earth, that he didn't care his SIR unit wasn't even paying attention to him. Gir bobbed his head side to side joyfully as he watched his favorite scary monkey show, oblivious to what was going on around him as usual. It wasn't until his master shut off the television that his attention was received, if only for a few seconds. The little robot squealed, hugging the strange looking contraption. "Yaaaaaay, it's a donut!" he announced, licking at its metallic exterior before being pulled off roughly by his master.

"No, Gir, it's not a donut. It's something much worse than that awful worm-baby food. Much, much worse," Zim grinned mischievously, zipper teeth bared. He tapped a button on his control panel to pull up a hologram visual of his ingenious plan. "You see, these stinky hyooman pigs rely heavily on their technology, particularly their communication devices called 'cell phones' that they are useless without." He air-quoted the term with his fingers before continuing. "As an Irken with superior technology myself, I can understand that we could not possibly survive without it. That's why, I've created this Megamagnet! With it, I can steal these cell phones away from the miserable worms, and they'll have no choice but to bow down to the might of Zim! Muwahahahaha!"

Watching as his master threw his arms in the air in triumph, Gir "oooh'd" before laughing uncontrollably and running about the lab. The robot eventually crashed into the wall before being sucked up a tunnel upside-down and into the kitchen from the trash can. Zim silenced momentarily to peer at his monitors in confusion as the robot donned his green dog suit and ran out of the house and down the street. Instead of giving chase, the alien waved his hand dismissively, used to the SIR unit's antics by this point. Wherever the little robot was going, he cared not to investigate. He's attempted many times to reprogram and repair that side of Gir for years, but came to admit that he'd rather have Gir like this than the uncontrolled mutinous robot that he had almost failed to detain years ago. That being said, the robot has been upgraded a bit in the past few years and has been able to perform some services without destroying the house anymore.

Zim rose from his seat in front of his desk, a rather pleased smirk plaguing his face once again as he stretched to his full height. By no means was he close enough to the Tallest's magnificent build, but he was content with his recent growth spurt over the past year. It came as a shock to both Purple and Red two years ago when they realized he had definitely grown past his initiate stage. When Zim had sent in the call to his Tallest, they were taken by surprise, Red spitting out his soda almost immediately and not caring that he had dropped the cup onto the ground below. How the defect had managed to grow without their realizing it was beyond them. It's not like it happened over night. Zim had stretched agonizingly slow for the most part, save for one spurt that did actually occur over night, in which he towered five inches more. He had the appearance of a decent invader at the height of 5' 7", surpassing Skoodge who was infamous for being one of the shortest Irken invaders besides Zim. While he considered this to be a feat in itself and worth of praise from his alien peers, he was reluctant to admit that his adversaries on Earth still had the upper hand, much to his chagrin. As he had grown, so had his nemesis Dib and the human's scary sister. Zim was still the shortest in his class, hindering his pride immensely, overcome by only an inch by Keef of all humans.

The alien clenched his fists in aggravation at the thought, breaking out of his thoughts only when he realized he had yet to contact the Almighty Tallest and tell them of his latest scheme. In fact, he hadn't sent them a call for the past two months on the count of his inability to formulate another plan, until now that is. His crimson orbs hovered over the call button for a few moments before he shook his head. No, he would wait until his plan succeeded before contacting them. Better yet, he would boast to them later with a crowd of mind-controlled pig stinks bowing behind him. Ooooh, what a wonderful feeling that would be. Zim couldn't wait to get started.

He pivoted back to his creation, taking note of the time on his monitor idly. It wouldn't be long before he'd need to go to skool. Five years now on Earth and he still couldn't believe he'd need to rely on the education system to retrieve useful information regarding the smelly humans. He had every thought to leave over the years, but found he was better off remaining in the false pretense to society as he was. Going to skool was simply just the better route to pursue, in his opinion. Zim's gaze scanned over the hulking monstrosity of his masterpiece, his gloved three-fingered hand raising to rub at his chin. The next step to carry out the plan was to keep it disguised so that no one would be suspicious, but how? He extended a clawed finger in the air as an idea struck him. Honestly, there was no end to his genius.

An hour had passed and he sat in his usual spot on the bus to skool, the vehicle's under carriage grinding agonizingly against the pavement that caused the other habitants to cover their ears from the sheer high-pitched noise. They were too distracted by the sound to pay any attention to the source of the cause, which related to the super magnet disguised as Zim's hat, twenty sizes too big for his head. Only Dib seemed to notice the abnormality of the situation, but that was typical and no one paid any heed to his spouting out about Zim's plot to take over the world, his words falling on literal deaf ears. The alien merely tapped his fingers together in his lap in false innocence, whistling to himself as if minding his own business, an appearance that was also the norm for the disguised alien. Despite the overbearing weight of Zim's evil creation, the bus pulled up to Hi Skool without problems.

The students streamed out of the bus, as if sludge pouring from the sewers, and into the facilities known as skool. They had all taken their seats in their respective classrooms when the teacher entered the room. Mrs. Bitters no longer held the duty of babysitting for the past two years, as Zim became aware. He was amused to hear that her job was limited to teaching those of younger age, much to her annoyance. After the students entered Hi Skool, they were appointed with a new teacher, a hulking brute with the alias of Mr. Smacky. Torque's uncle inherited all of the muscle mass of the rest of the Smacky lineage, giving him the appearance that he'd have been better off serving in the military or something instead of teaching a class. In fact, Mr. Smacky even had the commanding voice and authoritative air of a drill sergeant. No one dared question why he was here. There was one incident in which Dib tried to get their teacher to see that Zim was an alien, receiving a week's worth of detention and not a single answer as to whether Smacky believed his words or not. After a year, it became painfully clear to Dib that the answer was no. Mr. Smacky was just as oblivious as everyone else in the skool.

While Dib managed to avoid any more detention from the teacher, he and the rest of the class were not safe from any of his lectures or punishments when the class was disrupted. Disruption was unfortunately a norm and was hardly avoided, especially not on the count of the age-old clashing of the Membrane kid and green boy. Mr. Smacky slammed his fist down hard onto Zim's desk, making the disguised alien jolt out of habit. Zim's contact-covered eyes glanced up warily as he forced himself to remain looking innocent, his gaze immediately focused on the vein that bulged in the teacher's neck. "No hats allowed! Remove it at once!" A gloved hand instantly went to retrieving the heavy-weighted article of clothing and effortlessly deposited on the floor beside him with a thud. Smacky snorted like a bull before turning away to write on the chalkboard. Meanwhile, Dib was scrutinized the object from the other side of the room, trying to figure out what plot Zim was up to this time.

Even though they had changed classrooms and students over the past five years, their seating arrangement had not changed one bit. While some would complain about their own unchanging positions, Dib was perfectly happy. He was a comfortable distance away from his nemesis while at the same time remained able to keep an eye on his opponent for crucial moments like this. The large-headed teen shifted his attention momentarily to retrieve a journal from his backpack, scribbling away his recordings as per usual. He'd often be teased about writing in his diary, even from his own sister, but he didn't care. If he didn't record every bit of Zim's actions, he was sure to miss something and make a tactical mistake. Or at least, that's what Dib kept telling himself. To know thy enemy, that's what they say right?

After a couple of classes, he eventually got bored as Zim had yet to actually do anything. Dib didn't erase his suspicions, but he did ignore the disguised alien for the most part as he returned to focusing on taking notes. It wasn't until the lunch bell rang that he would be able to find out anyway. Like a herd of pigs, the students ran out of the classrooms with eagerness, some of them can be heard snorting like actual pigs. Even well within their teens now, they still acted as if wild animals, possibly even more so than their childhood selves. They made for the cafeteria with haste, though Zim still couldn't figure out what for. The cafeteria hadn't changed over the years. In fact, if anything, the food became progressively worse. Not that he cared, he couldn't eat it anyway. His diet during skool was either non-existent or existed only in the form of Snaks he had procured through ordering it across space and taking it with him. Many of the students mocked that he would get fat, but he had yet to attain weight whether it be in the form of fatty tissue or muscle mass. He was not skinny either, just the same lanky and green kid as always with the exception of his height change.

Lacking his usual Snaks today, Zim retrieved a food tray that he had no intention on touching. In fact, the only reason why he felt the need to get one was so that no one would think it strange. Lucky for him that no one paid attention either way, too focused in their own babble groups. Some had figured that he was on a strange diet of some sort but didn't put much thought into it any more than that. The alien set his tray before him as he took his usual seat, ignoring the plate of food altogether to tap away at the small screen displayed from his watch. Whirring and a cough can be heard from his hat, earning the attention of Dib who sat in his same old spot across the cafeteria.

"Did you see that Gaz? Huh, huh… huh? I just KNOW he's up to something again. I mean, come on, that's not normal! Don't you agree?" He practically screamed, hands flailing before him and gesturing to the disguised alien and his enormous, grotesque hat. The elder Membrane sibling bumped into her with his elbow by accident in the process of said flailing, earning a low growl from the gothic teen who was playing on her Gameslave as usual.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me when I'm in the zone? Just shut up already," she hissed through clenched teeth, fingers smashing at the buttons as she narrowly avoided being hit by a flying vampire piggy. Had the Gameslave not been designed to endure more damage than a Nockia phone, it would have given under the teen's assault a long time ago. If he was in his right mind, he would leave her alone before being thrown into a world of nightmare. That is, if he had the right mind. But no. Instead, he kept on with his typical, annoying speech.

"Just look at the size of his hat. It's got to have something to do with his plot, I can feel it!" Dib paused for a moment to stuff his mouth with mashed potatoes before continuing once more, almost spitting said mashed potatoes out as he ranted. "I'm going to find out that creep's up to."

Gaz muttered under her breath, resisting the urge to roll her eyes only for the sake of keeping her attention on the screen. Whatever her brother planned on doing, she would not let him interrupt her gaming. She couldn't deny having noticed the hat herself. Who wouldn't? It's way too massive to miss. But she honestly didn't give a rat's ass about it. The same routine would play out with or without her acknowledgment. As if on cue, the antics of her stupid brother and his stupid friend began.

Zim initiated his plot, jumping up onto his table and cackling loudly. Most of the students stopped mid-conversation to watch the scenario unfold. "Haha, stupid, stinking hyoomans! Soon, you'll all bow down to the AMAZING ZIM! Witness!" he yelled, jabbing a gloved finger at a button on his watch's screen. Silence. Crickets chirped somewhere in the distance. Zim gritted his teeth, smashing at the button repeatedly. "Grrr, infernal thing. Work, will you? OBEY ZIM!" After a moment of grumbling to himself and pounding at the screen, a low hum finally began to emit from his hat. Electronic devices around the room floated into the air before accumulating onto his hat. The cafeteria fire alarm, someone's laptop, and specifically every cell phone in the room decorated the hideous accessory.

"Hey, my phone!" was the outcry produced from nearly every mouth. Zim laughed triumphantly, pointing at every single one of them with a mocking sneer.

"Not so powerful now without your communication devices now, are you scum? Now, succumb to Zim's will!" he clenched his fists before him, his usual way to attempt to strike fear into his subjects. Victory never felt sweeter for Zim. His triumph was cut short, however. Amongst the pile of devices attached to his disguised super electromagnet was an all-too-familiar Gameslave console. A piggy could be heard squealing before a Game Over appeared on screen. All heads immediately turned to the purple-haired teenager across the cafeteria. By the time Zim realized what was going on, it was too late.

In a flash, he found himself pinned against the table, his antennae quivering under his wig and sight dulled by the sudden pain that shot through his head and discombobulation he experienced. He didn't even realize the cafeteria clearing of all bodies with the exception of him, his nemesis, and the sibling of said nemesis who was attacking him like a wild Tonkar bull. The alien could see nothing but raw darkness before him that was being emitted by the angered female. He had barely heard her say, "I warned you," before being beaten into a pulp. Moments passed before Zim was able to get his bearings again.

He ran gloved hands over his own body to diagnose the damage done, silently relieved that she hadn't decided to end his life on the spot. That being said, his appearance was none too pretty as he was quite literally beaten into a pulp that resembled a glob of fried beans. His disguise set, which still only contained his wig and contacts, miraculously remained on his body, though just barely. The product of hours of work, however, lay behind him, wasted to nothing more than ash. All of the devices were still present where the magnet had existed, minus the Gameslave that was back in the hands of its rightful owner. Gaz stomped out of the cafeteria, restarting the game from the last save point with nothing short of annoyance. Dib followed behind but not without stopping to mock his enemy.

"Give it up, Zim! Resistance is futile!" He gloated as if being the victor, even though he hadn't really done anything. When he saw her again, he'd have to give his sister credit. After she had calmed down, that is.

"NEVER! Zim will never give it up! You haven't seen the last of ZIM!" screeched the alien in return. He wasn't going to admit defeat for as long as he lived. Zim was an Irken, the superior race. They knew nothing about defeat. He'd just have to work harder next time. As he stood up to dust off his pants and straighten his disheveled wig, they heard snickering coming from the cafeteria entrance. Both males diverted their attentions to the figure.

At the entrance was a female similar in age, though taller than either of them. Her medium-length indigo hair shifted as her head fell back in her fit of laughter. Catching her breath, she wiped an invisible tear from her eyes painted with eye-shadow before taunting in an all-too-familiar tone, "I always knew you were a failure, Zim, but this is just priceless. How is it you haven't forfeited everything yet? You really should give up."

Dib gaped wide-eyed at the appearance of the girl, mouth hanging open in shock. He was too dumbfounded to speak. On the other hand, Zim glowered at their audience, venom in his tone as he spoke her name. "Tak."

A/N: Edited because I realized I made a mistake. It wasn't anything major, but it did bug me after re-reading. Instead of Zim's ears ringing, it's his antennae... and. Oh well, that's fixed lol