"Alien." Something stung across his face and his head lolled. Zim moaned softly and his eyes slit open.
"Alien, wake up." The human slapped him again and he hissed weakly, blinking as he tried to focus on what was in front of him. Familiar black boots, thin legs.
"Talk, alien."
Zim lifted his gaze to Dib's, brow furrowed. He starts to look around, not understanding, but the human male grabs him by the antennae and pulls his head back. Zim emits a piercing shriek, startling the two other humans watching silently from near the door.
"I said speak!"
The Irken bares his teeth and chitters them together warningly. Dib released him and swung his arm to backhand him but the alien whipped his head and snapped, teeth sinking into the human's hand. He yelled in pain and jerked away, causing more damage as the sharp fangs ripped through his skin. Zim swiped his pointed tongue across his teeth and then spit, spraying blood and saliva onto the man.
Dib clutched his hand a moment, then drew a gun from within his trenchcoat and pressed the muzzle against Zim's head. Zim glared at him silently, unmoving.
"That's enough, Membrane," one of the humans, an older male, spoke up. "You spoke of its aptitude but I'm not seeing any evidence of higher-lifeform intelligence."
Dib narrowed his eyes and lowered the weapon.
"He speaks our language fluently," he replied, not taking his eyes from Zim. "He's being stubborn."
"It acts like an animal, nothing more. We'll quarantine it and destroy it for examination in the morning."
"No," Dib turned to them quickly. "This one is different, I'm telling you. He's smart. He hacked my computer at home and then-"
"We've heard enough. Thank you Membrane, you may leave."
Dib hesitated a moment, then holstered his weapon and left the room without another word. He'd been after the agency for years and now he finally had something to show for himself. He'd be damned if they were going to just shrug him off because they didn't think his alien was anything special. They were going to destroy the alien for autopsy in the morning, as they did with all the creatures they deemed uninteresting enough to do extensive studies on. Dib wasn't about to allow that to happen. Not to his alien, his prize. This is his ticket to moving up and becoming a signed agent, and he will not see it squandered.
Zim watched the human boy leave, sucking his blood off his teeth. Humans are untrustworthy and deceptive. Lesson learned. He turned his attention to the other two as they stepped towards him.
"What do you think?" one asked, stopping before Zim and crossing his arms.
"Makes me think of a cat," the other replied, circling him slowly. "I don't think it understands us. Not worth wasting resources on. Call downstairs, have them come get it."
They turned and left him alone.
Zim shifted in his bindings, looking down at himself. Blood had soaked through his tunic on his side and he grit his teeth, feeling the Earth filth worming sickly inside his body. He flicked his clipped antennae gingerly and began moving his wrists in an attempt to free them but the metal cuffs held tight. His PAK portals were firmly stuck shut again, too. He sighed and cast about the room for some escape, anything, but there was nothing aside from the door and a large mirrored window next to it. He fixed his gaze on the door and waited.
More humans came for him not long after, these dressed in worker's clothes. He noted the difference.
"Careful, it bites," one warned and the other nodded, stepping behind Zim and pulling a muzzle-like apparatus over his face. He shook his head, fighting it, but the human buckled the thick leather in place and Zim growled through the small opening over his mouth. They cuffed his wrists together and then released him from the chair, pulling him to his feet by his arms. Zim fought them, struggling and kicking out, but the two larger males easily subdued him and dragged him through the door. He eventually allowed himself to be pulled along, knowing he wouldn't be able to break away like this.
The took an elevator to the basement of the building. Cage-fronted rooms lined the hall and Zim glanced into them as they passed, frowning at the odd creatures locked away. He recognized the species inhabiting one room and chirped. The creature looked up sadly and chirped back. Zim watched it until he lost sight, then he began struggling again, snarling.
The humans dragged him into an empty room and fastened a metal collar around his neck, chaining him to the wall at the back of the cell. They removed the cuffs and one reached to unbuckle the muzzle but he lunged and the man backed away, then both left, locking the cage door. Zim paced around the perimeter the chain allowed him, then turned to the wall, grabbing the chain and pulling, scratching. He clawed at the collar around his neck, then shredded the leather mask from his face. Cool air felt good on his face after the stifling leather and he kicked the mask further away from him. Other creatures wailed, screeched, and called from other rooms, chains rattling as they fought to escape. Others had simply given up and accepted their fate.
Zim sat in a corner and watched down the hallway silently, plotting.