Title: The Perfect Distraction

An Invader Zim Fanfiction Composed by: Cassie Jennifer Bryant

Main Genre: Sci-Fi.

Minor Genres: Drama, Angst, Romance (very minor).

Ratings/Warnings: K+ (suitable for ages nine and up) - Minor language. POSSIBLE OOCness. DIB-CENTERED! OC'S INCLUDED!

Disclaimer: Invader Zim is copyright to Nickelodeon and Jhonen Vasquez.

Begin Author Note: I decided to trail off from my Downloaded Personality fanfiction and post this one-shot I've been working on for the past few days. I have mixed feelings about this story myself. It's... different I guess you can say. I lurk fanfiction a lot, and I don't believe I've ever come across a story much like this one. Half of me says I shouldn't have made this into a one-shot, because there is so much I felt I could have built off of, and half of me says it was meant to be a one-shot (a LONG one-shot at that) to leave the readers thinking for themselves. I was going to add chapters to this, but I just decided to add horizontal rulers instead, so I guess you don't have to call it a one-shot ha-ha. If there's a lot of people who want it to be continued, I may continue it down the road. I most likely made Dib OOC, but for a one-shot it probably needed to be done. Sigh. Oh well. Please tell me what you think, because as said before, my feelings are mixed myself!

With Much Love,

Cassie J. Bryant!

The Perfect Distraction

It started with that painful incandescent white light. It was much too bright to be illuminated from the sun. Much too white. Much too unwelcomed. It must have been human-made, the person concluded. The human instantly secured his chestnut eyes, welcoming back that familiar darkness once more. Although the darkness was pleasantly inviting, the human was persistent. There was no surprise there; if there was a category for personality, Dib's was definitely under the category of "determination". He continued to swiftly seal then open his eyes, patiently waiting for his pupils to compress.

"Was that movement?" An unknown voice appeared from nowhere. Dib found this odd, for not only his last action before slumber was collapsing onto his bed, but there wasn't that usual sense of human presence nearby.

"Yes, doctor, your observation seems correct. He's stirring."

"Do you think we finally recovered him?"

A few quick blinks. A gradually slower blink. One more blink. Back into reality; the illumination had lost the struggling battle. Dib looked up, realizing he was strapped to a hospital bed. He became startled. Two shadowed figures hovered over him. Dib couldn't make them out, but they appeared to be of rather professional status.

"He's back."

"Welcome back, Morgan."

'Are they talking to me?' Dib thought. He broke his silence. "Morgan? Um, you must have me confused with someone else, my name's Dib Membrane."

The figure to Dib's right sighed. "He's suffering from an identity crisis."

"I had a feeling this would happen." The figure on the left stated. Both of the figures omitted a detrimental vibe. Dib cocked an eyebrow, unsure of the events happening to him.

'Identity crisis? What are these guys talking about?' Dib tried to focus his eyes on the figures, but they still couldn't process who they were. Were they aliens, possibly? Dib released words once again, "I don't understand. I went to Skool, came home, watched 'Mysterious Mysteries of Strange Mystery', went to bed, then came here. What's going on?"

"Morgan-"

"My name's Dib!"

The figures shared a glance with one-another. "This isn't getting us anywhere," Mumbled the figure on the right.

The left figure tried to reassure the right. "It's alright. We both anticipated this event would occur. We need to take baby steps now." He turned back to observe Dib, "Hit those lights. He might realize who we are if he sees our faces."

Obeying his innocent order, the figure on right departed from Dib's visual field, shut off the white lights, and replaced them with practical ones. He returned to his position, facing Dib. The paranormal investigator finally had a full-view on who these people were, but both were unidentified to him. The only trait that seemed familiar to Dib was those eerie pearl-white lab coats, accompanied by reflective goggles and black latex gloves.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Dr. Leah. I was hired by 'GameSlave' to observe and recover you along with the massive number of beta testers who volunteered." Dr. Leah began removing the hospital bed cuffs which suffocated Dib's hands. Dib watched the process, and was shocked to see how dated his hands became. They seemed much more masculine and detailed than before. These hands were certainly not the hands of a twelve-year-old boy, which made the paranormal investigator cringe.

Dib recognized the word 'GameSlave' and tried to sit up from his laying stance. His backside ached in discomfort, so he settled himself back onto the hospital bed. 'Isn't that the videogame Gaz plays all the time?' "GameSlave? That's the videogame my sister Gaz plays."

"You mean this girl?" Dr. Leah pulled out a photo from his pocket, revealing a picture of Dib's younger sibling, grinning and holding a tiny game console.

"Gaz? What have you done to my sister!" Dib ejected a yelling voice to the men. Whatever this situation was, the boy did not like it at all. Was Gaz safe? Did these men kidnap her? Dib's mind ran violently with worst-case scenarios. He struggled to remove himself from his position, only to experience a stabbing sensation which struck his backside. He retreated from movement.

The right man in lab-attire spoke in retort. "We've done nothing. Gaz is our mascot for 'GameSlave'. She's not real."

Dib blinked. "Not… real? What are you freaks talking about?"

Dr. Leah backed away while the figure on the right began to speak. "My name is Mr. Erman. I am the C.E.O. of 'GameSlave' Corporations. My staff and I designed a new program for 'GameSlave' known as Altos: the virtual reality operating system which gives you a whole new alternate life. We posted advertisements in newspapers to bring in beta testers to try out Altos. That's when things took a turn for the worse."

Dr. Leah continued Mr. Erman's rant. "Everyone who participated began to show odd side effects. Even without the console, participants began to randomly black out, going back into their alter reality. At first we thought it was Narcolepsy, but the side effects were beginning to happen to every participant gradually. Eventually, we had a crisis on our hands. It was too late for many before we caught onto the diagnosis. The brain became confused as to which reality was which because Altos was too realistic. Finally, the alter reality got the best of the beta testers, and each participant blacked out into a stagnant state."

"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" Dib questioned.

Dr. Leah continued. "That's the problem. You think this is some type of plot because you've been in your alter reality for two years. You've been living the life of a young boy with dreams of becoming a paranormal investigator. When a new kid comes to your School, you instantly assume he's an alien. Your hypothesis ends up being correct, and you must do whatever it takes to prove that this kid is an alien before he takes over the world. That's when the game really begins."

"This can't be happening! I'm Dib! I know I am! I mean, if I've only been in this other reality for two years, HOW do I remember my entire childhood?"

"Because Altos takes time perspectives differently. A year in reality could be six years in Altos, or vice versa. It all depends on how the participant comprehends time." Mr. Erman answered. "Altos holds a different reality for everyone. Not every beta tester was experiencing the same thing as you. Some became famous, some became poor, some became doctors, lawyers, sex idols, insane, anything you can think of!"

"I still can't believe this…" All this information was too much on Dib.

"If you want, you can rest until later. Both of us can realize how difficult and heartrending this is." Dr. Leah reassured.

'Maybe if I rest, I'll wake back up. Maybe this is just a really weird dream.' Dib agreed to Dr. Leah's notion. "Okay…"

'Please be back home. Please be back home.' An hour of elongated restlessness passed by, but Dib kept his eyes sealed the entire time, praying he was out of this dreamland and back into the Membrane household. Finally, he opened the orbs together, and there it was. There was that irritating light again. Dib admitted defeat. He had an inner-gut feeling he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"How was your nap, Morgan?" Dr. Leah positioned himself in the distance, causing Dib to jump in surprise.

"Stop calling me Morgan. I'm Dib." Dib was becoming more and more angered by that name. For the third time, Dib struggled to sit up; greeted with the pain he wished he wasn't familiar with. He moaned in agony.

"You'll harm yourself trying to get up. You've been bedridden for two years. It's going to take a while," Dr. Leah said. "If you can please give me a few minutes to explain who you actually are, we can start getting you out of that bed, and back to where you really belong."

Suspiciously, Dib curtly nodded. He had nothing better to lose or gain.

Dr. Leah inhaled, "Thank you. Just listen to me…"

A feminine voice in the distance interrupted the beginning of Dr. Leah's rant. "Let me see him! I have the right to see him!" Her voice appeared flustered.

Another female voice responded, trying to calm the prior voice. "You'll get to see him! I promise! Just not right now! He hasn't found his real identity yet!"

The footsteps progressively became more and more vociferous until the frustrated female arrived to her destination: Dib's hospital room. Dib tensed up as the doorknob began to turn gently, as if the woman was pacing herself. A skinny, sleep deprived woman with midnight black hair stood in the doorway, nearly fainting when she saw Dib looking at her. "Morgan…" She cracked a hopeful smile with the last bit of energy she contained.

"Who… are you?" Dib asked in an awkward manner. There was a moment of tense silence.

The woman frowned, sinking her head to face the cold floor. "You don't… remember…"

The second female, who had been following the raven-haired one, finally came up from behind, breathing rapidly. She wore a nurse uniform. Dr. Leah grew distraught. "I specifically told you not to bring her in!"

"I am sorry, doctor. She was rebellious. There was nothing I could do." The nurse was highly apologetic.

"I didn't want to tell you like this, Morgan. But I'm afraid I have no choice." Dr. Leah shut his eyes, waiting for the worst.

Dib looked around the room, confused. "Wha…?"

"This woman right here is your wife."

"My… WHAT?" Dib blatantly yelled.

"At least he is awake now… at least he is awake now… at least he is awake now…" The skinny woman continued to chant to herself, while the nurse held her tightly.

"Your name is Morgan Reimel. It appears your alters name is Dib Membrane. You are thirty two years old, work as a successful computer specialist, own a house, and have a family with three children. Your wife's name is Elizabeth, Iza for short. She has been waiting for you for two years. None of this is ringing a bell for you?"

Dib trembled. "No… none of this is." At this point, Iza was sobbing obnoxiously.

Dr. Leah sighed. "Ms. Harrison, please escort Mrs. Reimel out of the room."

"No. I can handle this. Please…" Iza tried to release herself from the nurse's restraint. The nurse continued to keep her under control and after a few inaudible whispers from the nurse, the two figures departed. Dib felt terrible, but continued to keep his guard up.

"Since there has been little progress in memory after your awakening, we will focus solely on physical therapy. Once we have you out of bed and moving again, we can start rebuilding the real you, one step at a time. Soon, you will know who you really are." Dr. Leah randomly began to leave the room.

"Wait! Wait! I don't understand!"

Click! The door shut, leaving an isolated Dib in the ashen room.

He screamed.

An entire week was focused exclusively on physical therapy. To all of the nurses' surprise, he had been making excellent progress. Dib hadn't seen Dr. Leah ever since that last colloquy a whole week ago. He was okay with that, too, and anticipated being back on his feet again. He knew that when he could maneuver himself, he would escape, find out where his location was, and go back to where he truly resided.

The day's schedule was much similar to the past week: breakfast, physical therapy, recess, lunch, physical therapy, downtime, dinner, and then more physical therapy. The only difference in today was that Dib could walk to and from his hospital room with some ease. He still felt abrupt pain when he took a step, which was depressing for the boy, but he wasn't going to retreat. Once seven o'clock chimed, Dib treaded back to his hospital room, and delicately laid on his uncomfortable bed. His entire body ached as usual.

Suddenly, a knock on Dib's hospital room door was heard. Dib didn't respond with a "come in", because they would come in nonetheless. The door opened. It was Dr. Leah. He walked into Dib's presence, and took his place in a nearby chair. He began, "I've been told by the nurses that you've been doing very well with your recovery. That's good to hear, especially for someone who's been in a vegetative state for so long."

Dib dared not to look at the doctor. He was growing more and more annoyed by the second. Dr. Leah noticed this, but continued. "If it is okay, your wife wants to spend some time with you tomorrow. I expect you to be a gentleman to her, because she is the woman you will be spending your life with from now on."

Dib remained silent. He wasn't sure what to think about the fact that he had a wife. To him, he was still twelve years old. Puberty had just begun to strike him, and here he is informed that he has a house, a wife, and children. The fact of having to converse with an unknown person that was his life partner was frightening, nervous, and awkward.

"By the way," Dr. Leah threw an object at him, "I think you have the right to know what you actually look like now, Morgan. This is one of the reasons we don't have mirrors hanging in our facility."

Dib gently turned the mirror right-side up and looked into it. His eyes grew as wide as saucers and his jaw hit the floor. He was pale as a ghost. It wasn't him glancing into the mirror. It was someone else; someone he had never seen before.

Dr. Leah left, shutting the door behind him, hearing the ear-piercing screams being omitted from Dib.

The next day rose rather swiftly. Subsequently after physical therapy, Dib had recess. If he had a choice to determine his favorite activity, it would be recess, because he was outdoors. The sense of freedom would pleasantly overwhelm him, reminding himself each day that he had to keep moving on so he could eventually escape. He sat on a nearby bench, inhaling the air with full respect.

"Hi." A voice appeared nearby. Dib looked up to see the raven-haired female he remembered so many days ago. She seemed much livelier than she was during their last meeting. A frail white dress caressed her tiny body, along with a massive duffle bag on her shoulder. She intimately rested beside Dib, making the paranormal investigator feel rather uncomfortable.

"Hi." Dib answered.

"I brought some pictures. I thought maybe they would help." Iza removed an album from her bag. As much as Dib didn't desire observing this "false life", he knew he had to. There was no point in escaping either, for there were guards nearby.

The first one she pulled out was a group picture at some type of casual bar. Standing in the middle was her alongside the man from the mirror. They were dressed up in goofy attire and celebration hats. She began, "This was at a friend's party on New Years. We had so much fun. That was the night we started dating. You just kind of pulled me in and gave me my first New Years kiss. I remember how slick you were about it too by constantly bringing it up as a joke and how stupid you thought it was."

Dib was unsettled. He didn't remember any of this at all. Iza took out another picture, eyes startling to glisten in sadness, "…Our wedding day."

The paranormal investigator turned away. He couldn't take this anymore, "I don't think it's a good idea to show me this stuff."

Iza focused on him, "Why?"

"None of this is real! This is just a dream! I can't believe any of this."

"But Morgan…"

"I don't like that name. That's not my name! It's Dib, okay? Dib!"

The woman closed her eyes, allowing teardrops to fall down her cheeks. "Then I will call you Dib… if it makes you happy."

Feeling regret, Dib erected his body up from the bench and began to physically distance himself. He knew exposing himself to these lies would only cause reverse side effects. Iza immediately followed.

"Please. Please just listen!" The woman ran up from behind him and began to hold him. Dib halted, but didn't respond to her hug. "I don't care if you forget. I'm just glad you're back. I've been waiting for so long!"

Dib glared at the floor, feeling every negative emotion imaginable. No one was on his side. Everyone was telling him something he knew he couldn't believe. He just knew this was some form of ploy, because that's how his life was played.

Iza continued, "I want you to listen to me. You have a family that loves you. If you won't do it for me, then at least do it for our children! If you can't even do that, do it for something! Somewhere in your heart. Please, Dib, please!"

Dib struggled to push the female away, but something told him not to. Something in his mind said never to inflict pain on this woman, no matter what circumstances.

"I love you…"

That was it. Dib snapped and pushed the raven-haired female away, violently throwing her to the ground. Nearby guards noticed this, and approached the situation with a snarl. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Dib attempted to run, but collapsed to the floor in agony. His physical therapy had still been incomplete. One of the guards jumped on top, restraining him from movement.

"Big mistake."

Dib awoke to a filthy hospital ceiling. Once his vision was no longer a blur, he observed the room. There to his left sat Dr. Leah and Iza, Iza facing the wall melancholy.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Morgan."

"You're the one's scaring me! My name is Dib Membrane for the last time!"

"No, Morgan. You're not Dib Membrane." Dr. Leah was agitated. "Although your physical therapy is not fully complete, for the sake of your family's expenses we need to get you back to being mentally stable. However, this event is not entirely your fault. Elizabeth went against my orders of not bringing up past events as an attempt to bring you back." Dr. Leah focused on Iza, "I think you owe Morgan an apology."

Iza slowly turned and peered into Dib's eyes with an expression of pure regret. "I'm sorry, Morgan."

"It's… okay." Dib's face became warm.

"I'll leave you two alone. Morgan, if another accident from previously occurs, there will be negative consequences. I can guarantee that." With that unsettling statement, Dr. Leah departed, slamming the door behind him.

For a few elongated minutes, there was awkward silence. The woman came to the conclusion that Morgan wasn't going to speak, and removed pink yarn and knitting needles. Dib watched her knit for a few minutes, and realized she was knitting socks. They were much too small for an adult or teenager, so he assumed they were for a possible baby or toddler.

"Who are they for?" Dib asked.

"Bre."

"Who's that?"

Iza's eyelids grew heavier. "Our daughter."

"Oh…"

"She was born right before you went for beta testing, so she hasn't met you yet. She's two now."

Watching this female cry became an unwanted custom for Dib. Somewhere inside, Dib couldn't help but feel grief for this woman. If he really was this Morgan person, he couldn't even suffice the heartache he kept consistently bringing her.

"Maybe I am crazy." Dib said aloud.

"It's not your fault. It's those fiends at 'GameSlave'. They don't care for any of us. They're just showing sympathy so they don't become involved in any major lawsuits." Iza began to knit faster.

"Why did I decide to do Altos anyway?"

"Extra money. We wanted to do a family vacation, and 'GameSlave' was giving away five thousand dollars to each beta tester."

Dib cocked an eyebrow. "That's a lot of money, don't you think?"

"It was risky and 'GameSlave' is a multi-billion dollar industry. We talked about it and decided it would be the easiest way to get quick money."

"I see." Dib continued to watch the female knit. There was a calming sensation being omitted from her, a sensation Dib had never felt before. Maybe it was Morgan trying to break through his shell? Dib jumped when he suddenly noticed Iza looking directly at him, beaming wholeheartedly at the paranormal investigator. Dib touched his mouth, and noticed he was grinning in response. When the hell did he begin smiling like that?

Hesitantly, Iza placed her knitting equipment onto another chair and itched up towards his figure. Dib forced his body deeper into the hospital bed cushions, growing embarrassed and nervous. She felt so inviting that Dib was beginning to lose control

She placed her gentle lips on his forehead and combed his hair with her thin fingers. Dib exhaled, thanking his creator that she didn't kiss him on the lips. He sealed his eyes, accepting her motherly gesture, and grew a wide grin. Maybe having a wife wasn't so bad. Besides, this had been the only moment that brought him ease ever since he "woke up".

"Do I still have to call you Dib?" Iza asked.

"You can… call me Morgan…" Dib responded, lost in the moment.

Another complicated week passed by. Dib's schedule basically remained the same, except instead of nonstop physical therapy he mainly spoke with a psychiatrist. After a while, everything about the alternate universe was starting to make sense. Gaz was the icon for 'GameSlave', and as a result placed her in the Altos for advertising reasons. Zim was the "bad guy" in the Altos, allowing Dib to have a more interesting alternate life and storyline. Dib's dad, Professor Membrane, was actually an installed expansion kit used to try and force Dib out of the Altos by losing the game, which would be him concluding that Zim wasn't really an alien, thus Zim taking over the planet. Every day was a puzzle for Dib, until finally the pieces began to fit together into one whole picture. Slowly but surely, there it was: the picture. It had been a complicated puzzle, indeed.

"Hello, Morgan. It's good to see you today." Dr. Leah sat next to his patient during lunchtime.

"Oh, hey Dr. Leah. You too. How have you been?"

"Extremely well, thank you. How's the therapy treating you?"

"Great." Dib smiled.

"I have wonderful news for you, by the way. If you continue your progress the way you are, we may have you out of this place by next week."

"Wow, really? That's amazing!" Dib grew excited.

"Yep. By the way, your wife will be in today. She's bringing the kids. This will be your first time seeing them, right?"

"Yeah. I have to admit I'm a bit nervous."

Dr. Leah laughed vigorously. "You'll be fine. Being a father's great… er… for the most part."

"I hope so." Dib agreed.

"Well, need to get back to work. I'm really happy for you, Morgan."

"Alright. I'll see you. And thank you, Dr. Leah… you know… for sticking with me."

Dr. Leah laughed once more, "It's my job."

His response brought Dib another wide toothy smile as he watched his savior leave. Once lunch was dismissed, he retreated to his hospital room, for his therapy sessions were cancelled for the rest of the evening. Consistently, Dib kept looking at the ticking clock. The man couldn't sit still for two seconds as he waited for his new family to arrive. His antsy attitude would soon be collected once the four beings entered the facility. Until then, he had to deal with it.

The door knocked once and Dib ran to the entrance, opening it pure enticement. There stood two adolescent boys, one appearing to be five and the other seven. The raven-haired woman held the youngest, Bre, in her fragile arms. Iza smiled her trademark smile.

"Boys, say hi to your father, he's feeling all better now."

The boys ran into their father's arms, screaming in glee. Dib hugged them back. "It's so good to see you, boys!"

"Daddy's back! Daddy's back!"

Iza inched closer to her husband, Bre shyly turning away in her arms. The woman turned to her daughter, kissing her gently. "No need to be shy, Bre. That's your daddy."

"Yeah I won't bite, Bre." Dib reached to retrieve Bre from his wife's arms. Frightened, Bre exploded in a series of high-pitched cries. Dib cringed and returned her to Iza. "Yeah, that might take a while…"

"It's fine. It happens. Need to take baby steps, right?" Iza winked at Dib, chuckling. Dib responded with a simper, blushing about who she was referring to.

"Exactly. Just need to take baby steps."

"It's good to have you back, 'Dib'." Iza teased.

"Hey! The name's Morgan!" Morgan playfully responded back, knowing his life had been completely reconstructed into his true reality.

He was ready for this new life, ready for this new reality. He embraced it with full arms.

He knew this wasn't a dream anymore.

It was in the middle of a rainy night. Dib's lying body was positioned on an icy metallic floor. Periodically, his body twitched wildly. It was unknown whether or not his eyes were open, because his brown orbs were concealed by a metal mask which engulfed his entire face. In the middle of the mask, a baby blue light continued to dim on and off. After twitching several more times, Dib finally became motionless, body appearing lifeless to the naked eye. The cyan light on the mask fully turned on after Dib's last twitch. Above the stagnant human body on a platform stood a familiar alien, ruby eyes glowing in the darkness and white zipper teeth grinning mischievously.

"Finally!" Raising his gloved hands to the sky, Zim claimed victory. "Dib can no longer stand in the way of ZIM! For I have made it!"

Zim simper transformed into a devious beam.

"I have made the perfect distraction."

The End.

End Author Note: Dib didn't die ha-ha. Just wanted to point that out so the fangirls aren't screaming at me. I hope you enjoyed!