The small space pod covered the sun completely as the little plant readied itself for landing. A tiny grin was plastered across its face as it dreamed of the conquering to come. It was so excited to take after its great ancestors which had conquered the mightiest of war planets. Its leaves shuttered at the very thought of sucking the planet dry before taking root permanently, spreading its own nasty seed to other dirt clods in the sky.
…
"Why's it dark?!" Gir cried as the sun was dimmed by an unknown object. Zim shielded his eyes as he peered up at the sky, his mouth drawn into a condescending snarl. He had seen solar eclipses on Earth before. But there seemed to be an eerie green glow about the object obstructing the sun's rays.
"Hmm," he pondered to himself. "Strange. I've never seen such a phenomenon on this planet before. It can't just be the shadow of the Earth, can it?" This last sentence was directed to the little robot that was still spazing about the sudden darkness.
Gir immediately stopped screaming to reply, "I don't know." Then, he just sat there and looked confusedly up at the object covering the sunshine.
When the lights came back on, Zim looked at the small green thing sitting on the sidewalk. The bottom of it was covered up in a gauzy material that looked to be slick to the touch. A little pod-like growth sat atop its winding stem. The stem itself was dotted with a couple leaf buds here and there.
"Gir, analyze," Zim ordered. Gir's normally blue eyes turned red for a moment. The little robot saluted before looking over the little object.
"Ooh!" he exclaimed upon ending his inspection. "It's a plant!" Zim rolled his eyes before scooping the plant off the sidewalk.
The plant immediately drooped on contact with Zim's gloved hand. Zim puffed out his chest and snarled again.
"Worthless little Earth growth," he growled before throwing the plant into the street. He brushed his hands together, getting rid of the dust accumulated there before walking into the house, followed by Gir.
…
Dib walked along, wondering how he was going to ever get people to believe him about Zim being an alien. It seemed obvious enough. Zim had green skin after all…and no ears. Besides, Dib had heard the plans of invasion over his transmissions that fateful night. He grumbled incoherently as he kicked a pebble into the road, his hands deeply planted in his pockets.
As a car rushed by, it splashed mud up onto the sidewalk, both drenching Dib and washing up something small and green. For a second, Dib thought it was just a weed and was going to just continue walking. But then he got a closer look.
The small pod was trembling on the skinny stem. The gauze around the bottom of the stem was torn and frayed, allowing the dirt to spew out along with a couple of stray, white roots. It looked like a quite hopeless little thing.
Dib, always interested in the strange and unknown, picked up the plant. It wilted pitifully. Dib raised an eyebrow.
"Poor thing," he mumbled. He thought for a moment. "The least I could do is take it home and perk it back up before transplanting it back into the ground." Not wanting to crush the plant, Dib cradled it in his hands instead of pocketing it as he continued to walk down the avenue.