-Chapter 1-
A boy sits on his couch, feet up on the coffee table, loudly demanding food from his companion. He was on his laptop, fingers flying over the keys, hacking into the FBI's database.
"HA! Stupid 'Muricans! Their firewall offers as much protection as a re-used condom! Give me the waffles, Gir, and tell Zim how amaaaaazing his talents are."
"Sure thing, Mastah! Heeeeya go!" said the tiny robot, dumping an enormous plate of waffles on the table and chugging heartily from the bottle of maple syrup.
"...There's no soap in these, right? The last thing I need is to be home sick again, and arouse suspicion. One can never be too careful..."
"I love this show~" Gir sang, sitting happily upon the couch and ignoring his master's question.
Zim looked up from his computer and to the large TV that covered most of the opposite wall. It was blank. He gave a small 'hmmph', then went back to his work.
A loud crash just outside his door made him jump out of his skin, and, assuming the worst, he grabbed his gun from the side table. Holding it up to his face, pointing upwards, he made his way to the front door before kicking it open and brandishing his weapon towards the noise. What awaited him wasn't another person, however, it was instead the smoldering wreckage of some large and complicated machinery.
Holy shit, he thought as he saw two bent, bleeding figures inside the smoking pod. Two bent, bleeding, and green figures. This cannot be happening.
Zim put the gun inside his pocket and rushed towards the debris. Ripping away at the already broken glass, he called to his minion.
"GIR! Get over here! This obscene monstrosity attracts far too much attention. Help me bring them inside, and hide that huge thing while you're at it! HURRY UP!"
He turned back to the wreckage, and dragged the shorter being out into his house. He went back and started to pick up the other one, when it groggily stirred and opened its eyes. Large, unbelievably deep blue eyes peered out onto Zim's face, but before he could speak Zim threw it to the ground, hitting its head and rendering it unconscious again.
Zim stood up, blew a lock of black hair out of his face, then stopped to say "Stupid filthy scum. It's too late for you aliens, Zim will not simply hand over the Earth to you pathetic wriggling aberrations. It is MINE to conquer! I will show you mercy now, but after today, you will not be spared. Don't say I didn't warn you." Then he picked up the last creature and hauled it inside before looking back to make sure his robot was doing its job. Once he was satisfied the ordeal was not seen, he shut the door loudly and dragged his subjects down to the basement.
A little while later, after securing the prisoners and deadbolting every door in the house, he flipped open his laptop and requested a call with his superiors. "Hurry up, you despicable pile of crap! Do you have any idea how urgent this is?!"
"What is so urgent, Zim?"
"Oh! Excuse me, Ĉiopova , I didn't realize it had connected."
"We're all very busy men here, so why don't you just get on with it?"
Onscreen were two very tall, bald men with smooth tawny skin who looked very much alike. They were wearing identical black business suits with ties. One man wore a red button-down shirt, the other, a shirt of deep purple.
"Yes, sir. Very well, then. Not ten minutes ago, an unusual aircraft landed outside my base. There were people inside."
"Oh yeah? What kind of people?" the purple one said in between mouthfuls of Doritos.
"Extraterrestrials, Ĉiopova. I detained them in the basement and ran some scans. Their DNA is like nothing I've ever seen before. There's only two of them, thankfully. They would be a serious threat to the operation if there were more."
"If what you say is true, this is very important. A scientific discovery this large could serve as useful leverage for the nation's government. Keep an eye on them and inform us of their movements."
"Yes, My Ĉiopova! Understood!" Zim saluted his leaders as they signed out. On the other end, Red and Purple were apprehensive and nervous.
"Aliens? Really, Red?"
"I know, it's crazy. We've known he was insane for a long time now. That's why he's over there, and not here." He got up from the couch and walked over to the balcony at the other end of the room.
"But what if he's right? What if it's rival gangs infiltrating our subordinates?"
"Yeah, you're right. Send recruitments just in case."
"Mastaaaah, the computer says he's awake!" Gir waddled into the living room, clutching a large rubber pig.
"Eh? Are you sure? Which one?"
"The big-headed one, silly! The other one's all limp and floppy like a pancake." The robot giggled and tore into the kitchen, searching the pantry for snacks yet again. It seemed all he ever did was eat and watch television. On a good day.
"I guess our tranquilizers didn't work on them. That's only to be expected, I suppose, considering they're not human." Zim got up from the couch and walked proudly over to the basement doors. He paused at the top of the stairs for a moment and said, "Zim will deal with the worm baby. The Ĉiopova instructed us to keep an eye on them, and we will not let these hideous outsiders compromise the mission. Don't interrupt me when I'm interrogating them, and stay up here in case one of them tries to escape. Is that clear, Gir?"
"Yes, sir!"
Good, he's getting better. About time he listens, Zim thought. He made his way down the staircase, deeper and deeper down into the bowels of the earth. There was nothing but heavy steel surrounding him as he descended mutely. Nothing but the rhythmic clanking of army boots on the metal steps. What awaited him at the end was an enormous steel door with an electronic lock and the booming voice of his prisoner. Despite the loud volume, the voice was distorted and muffled, though from injury, restraints or simply a foreign language, Zim did not know.
"Silence! I'm coming in already!" He shouted over the din, and was rewarded with a pause from his subject. Soon after, however, it resumed its irate babbling with renewed intensity, causing its captor to groan.
Typing in the 17-digit code with practiced accuracy, Zim brought his gloved palm down onto the handle, the cool metal reading his bare fingerprints via the hidden extra security scanners. The door unsealed with a hiss, and swung open with a deafening creak. Normally, Zim would have it oiled and kept said door in perfect condition like everything else he owned, but he found the noise intimidating. Loud, threatening, and unwavering, just like its owner.
He waltzed swiftly into the large chamber, spine straitened and chin elevated. Zim knew the way to deal with bogeys is to portray authority and ruthlessness. It's not like this is the first prisoner he'd held captive in these quarters, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last.
Zim reached the opposite wall and stood in front of the being. He paused to observe it; He hadn't really taken the time to inspect either of the creatures before now. He looked up and was taken aback by what he saw.
The beast-thing was flat against the wall, with thick latches lifting up its long slender arms. Smooth poreless skin, the colour of light mint, covered its lithe frame, enveloping a round tight abdomen covered in shreds of navy and black fabric. Tapered legs ending in heavy black boots made the figure seem taller than it really was, only a bit more than Zim's own (shorter than normal) height. The being lifted its smooth bald head as Zim approached, giving way to long black antennae and huge mystical eyes, sparkling like the midnight sky.
"Holy shit, your head is huge. Is that normal for your species, or are you just a deformed reject?"
It lost the look of burning fury on its face, replacing it with a thoughtful and curious one. It seemed to be studying Zim's speech, trying to decipher the terrestrial prose. It opened its mouth to say something unintelligible, then cleared its throat and tried again.
"What are you?"
Ah, so it was translating. It speaks English now. So intelligent life does exist outside our pathetic rock. Interesting.
"I am ZIM! Fear me!"
"You're...Zim? What is a, er, zim?"
"It's my name, you revolting cretin. You know, a title given to be called by?"
"I know what a name is. I have one too, you know."
"I don't care!"
"It's Dib."
Zim smirked. What a pathetically useless name! Oh well, at least it fits its owner.
"Yes, yes, that's fascinating, Dib-thing. Now tell me what the FUCK YOU'RE DOING HERE!"
"Are all aliens as bad-tempered as you?"
"SILENCE! Answer the question, fool!"
The Dib-beast stopped and put a different expression on his face. This time, one of shock and realization.
"Oh my..."
"Don't you ignore me, worm baby!"
"You're an alien! A real ALIEN! I'm talking to an alien life form, here in its base, on this foreign planet! They DO exist! I WAS RIGHT!"
"You are my prisoner! You're damn right you're in my base! You made a huge fucking bloody mess outside, leaving Zim to pick up your ship's remains and drag your worthless smelly asses in here! Are you TRYING to get captured, cause you're doing a f-" Zim's ranting was interrupted by a coarse interjection from the Dib.
"Where is Gaz."
"What?"
"My sister, Gaz!"
"What?"
"Don't play dumb, you twisted space fiend! She was with me in the ship! I know you've got her here-"
"What?"
The Dib-thing thrashed against his bonds wildly, eyes flashing dangerously down on Zim. His tough gaze pierced right through the teen and made his skin burn.
He gave a dangerously low growl before hissing out a single threatening sentence. "Where. Is. My. Sister!"
"You mean the other stink-beast bleeding all over Zim's immaculate floors?"
The Dib thrashed yet again, ready to rip apart the unfortunate one that hurt his sister.
"Relax, worm-child. Your sibling is receiving treatment in another room. I can't very well let such a valuable discovery die on me, now can I?"
Dib narrowed his eyes and tilted his green head to one side curiously. "What do you mean, discovery? What does it matter if we live or die? Why do you...care?"
Zim turned away and walked ever so slowly to the wall opposite Dib, his back facing the captured specimen. "Truthfully, Zim does not care. I am merely acting on orders. If it were up to me, I'd light you both on fire and fling you back into space so that you may not foil Zim's incredible plans." He brought a hand up to stroke at the thick, shiny pipes and wires coiling every which way in his base. He could see the Dib's reflection in every bend and twist of the metal. "What reason would you come to this filthy planet other than to snatch it away from me?!"
"You? Snatch it away from you? You don't rule this place! I assume that if you did, I would be surrounded by guards right now, not to mention this dungeon would be a lot bigger."
"LIES! I will rule this filthy place, and there's nothing you can do to stop it! I am taking this land for my superiors, and you're going to rot in hell just like all the other pathetic creatures on this damned planet!"
"I'd like to see you-" His sentence was cut short by a fire extinguisher launched at his head. Falling limp, a slow trickle of blood dripped silently down the contours of his angular face, barely making a sound as it trailed off his chin onto the cold hard floor.
Putting a needle in his arm for good measure, Zim used up the last of his sedatives on the now unconscious prisoner. Discarding the empty syringe, he walked towards the door leading upstairs, pausing for a moment to observe the Dib. The alien's words ringed oddly in his head, resonating in ways Zim didn't like. This is the start of something. He narrowed his eyes in dislike as he climbed the first step leading upstairs.
From now on, nothing will be the same.