The Rising

Chapter 1: The intruder

Zim floated helplessly, his superior red eyes stinging slightly from the tinted goo. The curved glass of the tube-chamber distorted the already oddly shaped heads of the pitiful earthling humans. The noise of their rabble came to him muffled and almost indistinguishable. Who was out there? President Man, the earthling recording/communications network, an arrogant Professor Membrane… so many other human pig scum as well. Prominently, though, was a field trip from skool, hosted by the ever creepy Ms. Bitters but forcibly led by a gloating Dib.

"Tacos!" screamed GIR from a corner. His head and chest panels were open, spilling wires and bolts from odd angles. Professor Membrane had already begun to take him apart, and yet still GIR hadn't grasped the situation.

"Dad!" yelled Dib, running to his father. "I was right! I was right! An alien! Everyone sees him now! Everyone sees!" He cast an evil look towards Zim.

"You sure were, son." Professor Membrane stood upright and struck a manly pose. "An alien. Now, I must work IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE!" He crouched back down over GIR.

"Doom! Doom!" GIR was singing now. What an idiot, thought Zim, as dirty human faces pressed even harder against the glass, looking at him.

"Ha! Zim's an alien! I told you all! I told you all!" It was Dib. Hideous earth-child.

Zim felt an odd sensation, like he was spinning. Had they begun some sort of testing on him?

"Piggy! Tuna! Leprechauns!" GIR's high pitched whine seemed to add to Zim's dizziness. Zim wanted to tell him to shut up, but he did not speak. The spinning sensation grew stronger, and Zim thought he might be sick.

"This is my favorite show!"

Zim blinked and sat up. There was no tube-chamber, and no tinted goo. The crowd of disgusting earth humans was gone, and GIR was in one piece. "A dream!" said Zim. "All a dream! Ha ha! I am ZIM! No one could ever defeat me!"

"This is my favorite show!" repeated GIR, happily banging his arms on the computer's main control panel. The large monitor that covered half the wall was busily playing some pointless human entertainment presentation.

"No GIR!" shrieked Zim. "Bad! Bad!" He quickly turned the screen back to the house's security monitor, which displayed feed from spy cams placed strategically around the property.

"I want cheese!" GIR ran about the room, his arms flailing wildly. Zim ignored him, instead turning his attention to the top right of the screen. How long had he been asleep? Had he missed what he'd been waiting for? No. A shadow crossed the front yard, evading the sight of the gnomes. Quietly it went to the door, tampering slightly with the lock, and then slipping inside. Zim's eyes narrowed, and a smile etched itself across his face. With unusual grace and silence, he went to greet his intruder.

The shadow was perched on the couch, one arm draped across its back. The only light in the room came from the moon, whose rays filtered palely through the window panes. Zim arrived in darkness, stepping from the hover disc of the elevation tube. He crept smoothly to the living room, and stood between the shadow and the front door, as to prevent any escape attempts.

"So, DIB. You thought you could sneak into my base unnoticed, eh?" Zim flicked on the lights and leapt towards the couch. "Well think again! Once again, I've caught yo-you're not Dib!"

The figure on the couch crossed her arms and leaned forward. "Oh really? So very observant." She was Irken.

Zim backed against the wall. His pak sprouted spindly legs and carried him several feet towards the ceiling. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "What are you doing in my base?" Unannounced Irkens had brought him troubles in the past.

"My mission and purpose are for none but myself to know," said the female. "My name is Miira. I have come from far to this place, under the impression that this planet and its general vicinity had not yet been inhabited by any Irken presence. It seems that I was mistaken, but since you are here, it makes no sense that I should set up my base without help or intelligence."

"I am the invader of this planet! It is my own to destroy. My mission. Mine! I would never give you help, mission stealer. I am INVADER ZIM!" Zim glared down at Miira.

"I am not here to steal your mission! And as far as I have been informed, no invader has been assigned to earth. I thought it was in fact undiscovered by the tallest."

"Well you were WRONG! I, Invader Zim, will annihilate the human race and take earth for the Irken Empire!"

Miira showed some sign of annoyance. "As I said, I have no interest in your mission, Invader Zim. And as you have shown no interest in helping me, I will be going. I'm sure we'll meet again sooner than either of us would like." The irken rose from the couch and made her way to the door. Zim dropped to the floor, landing in front of her.

"And what makes you think you are going anywhere, intruder?" His pak sprouted dozens of small blasters on either side of his head.

Miira's lips formed a sweet little smile. "Sleep well, Zim." She produced a strange gun-like device. With a low boom, a repressed shockwave hit the invader, and he felt himself collapse, unconscious.