A growing dread filled Tak as they neared the cafeteria. It was nearing the first shift for the evening hours and the cafeteria would be busy. In the hall Tak's glare was enough to keep the others at bay, but a crew member that she recognized and had worked with personally stopped in the hallway when she saw her.
The younger Vortian was called Jayka Nar and was distant relative of Lard Nar's. She was part of the engineering team and often met with Tak to give reports when Tenn wasn't free to do so. She also befriended Skoodge, which meant Jayka Nar was one of the few crew members that was not afraid of her. Fortunately she was intelligent and could sense when Tak could and could not tolerate social interactions. Unfortunately, while in the cafeteria all restrictions were off and Tak had to accept interactions no matter what.
Jayka Nar looked over the small human, who was waving happily at her, and glanced down to where their hands were connected then finally she looked up to meet Tak's eyes. Tak glared at her, but the Vortian's face just split into a wide smile before she turned and ran back down the hall ahead of them. At this point the hall did not break off into other paths, so there was only one place that Tak could be heading with the small human.
Pausing in the hallway, Tak deeply considered just taking the small human back to her quarters and ordering food to be brought there. However, the act was cowardly and despite the great appeal of the idea her stubborn pride wouldn't let her go through with it. So stealing her resolve Tak proceeded onwards and into the cafeteria.
Miz gasped audibly and her eyes widened in wonder as they emerged into the large room. The space was filled with tables and places to sit, which were mostly occupied at the moment. Since this cafeteria was used by the crew on duty there was a sea of blue uniforms, which only made the differences between species stand out even more. A large chattering of noises clashed against Tak's antennae as variety of pitches and dialects all merged together into one disharmous symphony.
Towards the back, against the wall and reaching up to the ceiling were brightly lit signs and display boards listing the various foods available in numerous languages. Tak dragged the ogling girl towards the back and cursed the fool who designed the place so that she had to walk by half the occupants before reaching her destination. Tak could feel her antennae buzzing as she picked up on the numerous comments and whispers directed their way.
Thankfully, Tak wouldn't have to try and guess what the human could eat. Before getting into the line there was a seperate station set off to the side. Tak punched her ID code into the side of the console and prepared the station by selecting Miz's species and pushing the child into the clear standing tube. Closing her in, Tak was thankful that the human didn't ask many questions as she was too busy being stunned by her surroundings. In wonder the human placed her hands on the tube's glass as it lit up with a variety of colors and symbols.
"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue," Tak instructed and the human obeyed. "Stay still," Tak chided as the child was bouncing up in down in her excitement. After scanning her body for its biochemistry, it scanned inside her mouth to gain a better understanding of what types of food would be palatable and not just 'safe to ingest'. Lastly, her blood would be checked for any individual discrepancies, such as allergies, food sensitivities and intolerability. "Place your hand on that panel there," Tak pointed as a square lit up on the side of the consul inside of the tube.
Miz placed her palm on the square, however she quickly withdrew it and her excitement was squashed for a moment as she glared at the panel as it closed with her blood sample. Rubbing her palm she told Tak, "It bit me!"
"It didn't bite you," Tak said tapping on the screen as the results popped up. "It took a blood sample." The tube opened and the human stepped out still rubbing her palm and glaring at the machine suspiciously. Tak confirmed the test and sent the data into the cafeteria's database. "Now, lets go," Tak said lightly pushing on the human's head when the girl didn't move.
Miz let herself be guided forward, but kept glaring back at the machine that most definitely bit her.
"Place your hand here," Tak instructed, pointing to a scanning pad at the start of the food cue. Miz held her hand to her chest and shook her head.
"It's gonna bite me!"
Tak glared down at her. "It's not...the scanner has no need to take a blood sample. Now put your hand on the scanner."
"Nuh-uh!" Miz shook her head again and took a step away from it.
Tak was losing the small amount of patience she had. She glared down at the human. "Either you put your hand on the scanner so the Irken foodening processor can provide you with appropriate foodening options, or I will choose the most toxic foods in the known universe and force you to consume them."
Miz's eyes widened and her lips pushed together in a thin line. She was pretty sure that Lady Tak had just said a bad word, because she heard her Daddy say bad words in a similar tone, but she wasn't sure if pointing it out would be good or not. Studying Lady Tak's face Miz decided to not remind the adult that bad words were not okay to say.
Instead she asked, "Are you friends with Auntie Gaz?"
"No." Tak said still glaring at the child. "Now what is your decision?"
"You sound a lot like Aunite Gaz," Miz mumbled as she jut her lip out in a pout and slowly extended her hand onto the scanner. If Lady Tak could sound so much like her Auntie Gaz, then it wouldn't be good to push Lady Tak's buttons either. Miz was a smart girl and knew what that tone of voice meant. Auntie Gaz never told lies or fibs, so Miz was sure that Lady Tak was the same and when Auntie Gaz made threats she meant them. Toxic foods did not sound like they were be tasty.
Hesitantly, Miz placed her hand on the scanner and a blue light appeared, Miz almost drew her hand back but she could feel Lady Tak's eyes on her so Miz smartly decided to not move her hand. The blue light quickly faded and a light bing sound came from the wall. Miz looked up to see a light glowing blue above a screen a little further down.
Not waiting for her, Tak grabbed the small girl by her wrist and dragged her down in front of the kiosk. "Here, all the options available today are listed, pick whatever you would like to eat. Everything should be listed in your language, if you do not understand a word lightly press on it and further information should be displayed," Tak instructed and then took a few steps back. Crossing her arms she glared at a few of the cafeteria's occupants that were using the excuse of getting more food to come investigate. Tak's glare was sufficient in helping them realize that they weren't that hungry after all. The rule of socializing did not officially start until she was at a table.
"Anything?" Miz asked wanting to be sure, her eyes wide and hopeful.
"Yes, yes," Tak waved at her annoyed. "Just select whatever you want. All the foods listed are safe for your consumption. Just make your selections quickly."
Miz looked back to the screen and paused, then looked back to Tak. "Lady Tak are you getting anything?"
Tak was about to say no, sitting and eating snacks at a table was an open invitation for others to come and socialize with her. However, with the human that was going to happen regardless. She might as well have something to make this experience less unpleasant. Even if this made her go over her rations for the day (because she was still going to have her foods sent to her quarters later once she was off duty) she doubted Lard Nar would dare to bring up the subject after making her play keeper to his new to-be-recruits.
"I will after you finish making you selections," Tak told the girl. "So hurry up."
" 'Kay!" Miz said needing no further prompting and immediately turned back to the screen and made several precise selections. "All done!" she declared bouncing excitedly.
Tak eyed her, the girl barely even looked at the selections before choosing. However, it shouldn't be an issue the scanner should have brought up options that the human could eat but would also find appealing. If she didn't like them then they would just leave. Tak wasn't about to stay here longer than necessary. Tak punched in her ID code into the kisok, being a seasoned crew member she didn't need to scan her palm to know what items she could eat. After making her selections, Tak turned to the end of the area where the foodening drones (staff as Lard Nar called them) were busy preparing their selections.
The small human stood on her tiptoes to see over the counter and watch the food drones. There were several more drones in the serving area than necessary. Tak suspected that when the food order went it, it also alerted the kitchen that a new species had been registered into their database. No doubt they were all interested in seeing and interacting with the new species. It wasn't that having uncommon or unknown species join the Resisty was unheard of, it was the nature of how this particular species or individuals were being recruited. Somehow it was leaked to the rest of the crew that Zim personally knew the newest possible recruits. Everyone wanted to know what kind of individuals could survive an encounter with the most infamous Irken during his Invader days.
Finally two trays were set on the counter by the five food drones. It was highly unnecessary for all of them to deliver the food considering that the species that manned the foodening areas were cephalopodic in nature and each of them had six arms and their species was known for their ability to multitask.
Tak took her tray which contained the Resisty equivalent to Irken soda and two bags of chips. The second tray made Tak raise an eye ridge. Five plates were squeezed onto the tray and they were all items that were Irken safe. Tak had even had a few of them before as her species needed large quantities of sugar.
"You did not choose any meats?" Tak asked Miz knowing that humans consumed such disgusting foods.
"Daddy and me are vegetarians," Miz said her voice sounding distracted as she watched the tary with her selections slide closer. "And you said I could have whatever I wanted," Miz said defensively as she reached over the counter to grab the tray. Once the edges of the tray were in her grasp, Miz looked past the food to the small group clustered together, almost leaning over the counter to get a better look at the human. The food drone's eye sockets were all extended as high as they could go in order to see the short human.
Her chin just visible over the counter, Miz gave them all her biggest and best smile. "Thank you, Octopus Lunch Ladies!" she said to the group.
Tak's face wrinkled in disgust as the group wiggled in undulating delight, their tentacle arms waving and their bubbling voices giggling to each other.
"Let's go," Tak said quickly leading the small human away before the Cephlowdians began oozing, as their species was known to do when over excited.
Scanning the cafeteria Tak tried to see if there was a place to sit that would make it the most inconvenient for others to approach. Unfortunately, her attention was grabbed by Jayka Nar as she stood near a table and waved her arms around. Once Jayka Nar's eyes met Tak's she loudly called Tak's name and pointed to the table she was sitting at.
Tak cursed herself for getting so easily caught. If she hadn't acknowledged her, Tak might have been able to get away with the excuse that she just hadn't noticed the vortian despite her rapidly flailing arms. But now that she made eye contact, running would seem cowardly. Tak looked at the table's occupants and perhaps for the first time in her entire existence was relieved to see Zim. He would work as an excellent deterrent for those who would want to come and sit with her and meet the human. As a bonus it looked like Zim was less than thrilled when he saw who Jayka Nar was inviting over.
Tak grinned internally. If she had to suffer the annoying human's presence then at least she wouldn't have to do so alone. "This way," Tak told Miz and lead the way through the tables to where Jayka Nar was sitting with Skoodge and Zim. Miz diligently followed behind Tak, being very careful not to tip her tray and drop any of its precious cargo. Her attention was solely on not dropping her foods, so it wasn't until she placed her tray on the table and climbed into the chair did she notice who else was sitting with her.
"Mr. Skoodge!" Miz greeted him happily. Skoodge nodded back as his mouth was full and his hands were holding his sandwich. Then her eyes trailed over to Zim who was drinking from an Irken soda and her expression drastically changed. Her eyes narrowed and her lips went in to a flat line as she silently glared at Zim, who grumpily glared back. The exchange was brief and her attention shifted to the vortain sitting next Skoodge. Miz's expression brightened immediately. "Hi!" she said cheerfully. "My name is Miz, what's your name? Oh!" Miz said her eyebrows raising in recognition and she continued not waiting for her first question to be answered. "You look like Mr. Captain. Are you two married?"
Jayka Nar blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter. "No, no," she waved her hand around still laughing. "We are the same species, Vortian, but married?" she continued to laugh. "Ha! Wait until I tell him this," Jayka Nar snickered. "Heh, no. We are related actually. Distant cousins."
"Oh," Miz said not at all phased by mistaking their relationship. She knew what cousins were, but they didn't hold much importance to her as she didn't have any herself.
"My name is Jayka Nar, I am very excited to meet you Miz," Jayka Nar said with a genuine smile.
"Me too!" Miz said with great enthusiasm as she began to bounce in her seat. "I've never met any aliens before today, and I've never had space food from space before. It's so cool!" she said pointing to her plates and admiring once again the brightly colored foods she had picked out. Now that the food had her attention again Miz picked up a fork and despite being excited about all the aliens, her full attention went back to her snacks.
"How does it taste?" Jayka Nar asked as Miz put the first bit of what looked like blue and purple cheesecake into her mouth.
"So tasty!" Miz said around her mouthful, wiggling in her seat and kicking her legs happily. "I love space cheesecake!" she said going back for another larger bite and humming happily as she ate.
Tak placed a hand on top of Miz's head and pressed down, trying to control the energetic human. "Stop bouncing," Tak instructed, the human's movements were shaking the table.
Her head being pressed down, Miz stopped bouncing and instead wiggled side to side in her seat instead.
"Let her be," Jayka Nar chuckled when Tak was about to scold the child further. "She's just excited, aren't you?" Jayka Nar asked and Miz nodded in return. Her fork stabbed the treat in the next plate and tasting that she made more happy sounds and hummed in delight at how good and sweet everything was.
"So, Tak," Jayka Nar began. "How did you end up being the caretaker for this young human? This isn't the Dib I've heard about, where is he?"
"Daddy's with the Shadow Lady taking a test," Miz answered before Tak could. "So Lady Tak took me to get snacks while we wait for Daddy to finish."
"Test?" Zim spoke up. "What test? The Dib is inferior to Zim in every way, but if I say the human will join then he will join."
"He's with Ixane," Tak said glaring at Zim. "She's testing his skills on Irken coding. I was the one to bring him there. I won't approve until I'm sure he won't be dead weight. Besides the human himself hasn't said he will agree to join," Tak gave Zim a smug look. "The Captain tasked me with escorting the human around because he believes I will be able to aid in convincing the human to join."
Zim slammed his soda on the table causing some to slosh out onto the table. Skoodge moved his sandwich out of the way just in time and held it close to his chest in a reflexive protective gesture. Zim stood glaring down at Tak. A few crew members that were approaching their table to see the new species promptly decided to wait until another time and hastily retreated.
"The human will join because Zim told him too!" Zim shouted.
"Nuh-uh!" Miz said around a mouthful of cake and pointed her fork at Zim drawing the Irken's glare to herself before Tak could respond. Miz scowled at him while she swallowed. "Daddy's going to join and become a space hero because I asked him too," Miz said pointing her fork back to herself.
"Ha!" Zim laughed planting his fits on his hips. "Foolish Earth worm-baby, The Dib wouldn't obey the words of his offspring. As soon as he meets with the Captain and hears that the Mighty Zim has declared he is worthy enough to serve in my superior research team, he will grovel at the feets of Zim in order to join. Then," Zim sneered at the small human. "We will bring you back to Earth and leave you with your other parental unit."
"You're a dookie face liar pants," Miz waved her fork at Zim who gasped at the insult. Kayka Nar snorted trying to keep in her laugh, while Skoodge's eyes widened at the human's brashness. Tak took a sip from her soda, ready to sit back and watch. "Daddy already met with Mr. Captain and Daddy only agreed to join because I asked him too. AND Daddy won't join if I don't join too because Daddy loves me the most. AND Mr. Captain already said I could stay too. He said I could have my own room. AND I don't have a mommy so I have to stay with Daddy no matter what, so there!" Miz stuck out her tongue at Zim.
Zim was absolutely livid at the human's disrespect to his magnificent self and opened his mouth to barate the human when Skoodge frowned and spoke aloud his confusion.
"Most human family units have female parental units, don't they?" Skoodge mused out loud not noticing Jayka Nar's pointed look to drop what he had no idea could be a sensitive subject. "Why don't you have a mother unit? What happened to her?"
Miz blinked, turning her attention to Skoodge as the anger vanished from her face. Leaning back she grabbed another bite of her foods. "I never had a mommy. Grandpa made me for Daddy."
That statement confused all three of them.
"Wouldn't that make you a sibling unit to the Dib?" Skoodge asked. He was somewhat familiar with human culture due to his past exchanges with Zim.
Miz giggled, finding that funny. "No, silly," she said stuffing another forkful of deliciously sweet cake into her mouth. "Daddy and Auntie Gaz were made from Grandpa and I'm made from Daddy, but Grandpa made me a girl because girls are better than boys."
This did nothing to clear the confusion. Seeing that the adults still didn't get it, Miz swallowed and thought hard about the word Daddy had used. It didn't really matter to her that she didn't have a mommy because her Daddy was enough. The other kids didn't get why she had no mommy even after she had explained it to them, but Miz always thought that was because they were stupid. She didn't think these adults were stupid, well except for Zim who shot her Daddy and then spent the entire space trip here saying mean things about her Daddy and calling him stupid.
Finally she remembered the word. "Clone!" Miz said pleased with herself and rewarded herself with another big bite. "Daddy and Auntie Gaz are Grandpa's clones and I'm Daddy's clone. Grandpa made me for Daddy because he was lonely and bored, but now he's not because I'm here and I love Daddy the most."
The two Irkens that had been to Earth were shocked at this news. Zim was a little confused with himself because the news that the small human was a clone pleased him. He shouldn't be happy that there was a clone of his once-enemy because it meant this one would be troublesome, but somehow knowing that Dib did not produce offspring made him happy. However, this female clone did not feel like Dib at all, there was something vastly different than the feeling Zim got when he had first met the Dib that he did not feel looking at his clone.
"It is normal for humans to make clones?" Jayka Nar asked not having read anything about clones in the information about humans in their database. Upon hearing that a new species was being brought onboard she had done some research about them.
"Nope!" Miz said cheerfully eating. She didn't feel angry talking to the other adult aliens, only Zim and he wasn't talking and Miz had tasty treats in front of her so it was hard to stay mad. "I was made special just for Daddy."
"How interesting," Jayka Nar mused. "Did you know, little Miz, that all Irkens are clones as well?"
"Really?" Miz turned her wide excited eyes towards Tak and then Skoodge. "Are you brother and sister then? Who is your Daddy?"
"The original Irkens they used for cloning are long gone," Jayka Nar said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "But it is entirely possible that they could be siblings, even with Zim."
All three balked at the idea and began arguing the improbability of the situation. Zim shouted very loudly that his genes were superior in every way from the others, Tak denied that she shared any common gene with Zim and Skoodge frowned saying that there were many DNA bases from which they were made, so there was a low likelihood that they were related genetically.
Miz giggled. "You sound like Daddy and Auntie Gaz! They like to argue a lot too, though Auntie Gaz is always right."
"See?" Jayka Nar said fully enjoying the Irken's discomfort. It wasn't often they could get all three of them riled up like this. "That's all the evidence I need."
Skoodge and Zim continued to argue, trying to convince Jayka Nar of her misconception. Zim was clearly offended, while Skoodge was more hesitant. He didn't want Jayka Nar to have false information. As the two of them were friends, he assumed that letting her have false information was somehow against this friendship code. Jayka Nar grinned at the socially clumsy Irken, it seems he still hadn't quite grasped testing yet.
Tak however didn't say much and gave Jayka Nar a calculated glare. "You are definitely related to Lard Nar," Tak said after sensing that same silliness in her that Lard Nar sometimes showed. Further arguing would also make the Vortian twist her words against her in the most illogical ways, thus making further argument impossible. As Tak was smarter and more observant than her Irken comrades, they had yet to notice this.
The two argued with Jayka Nar as Miz watched looking back and forth and giggling as she continued to eat. Tak looked down at the human's tray. The human had eaten most of her snacks, leaving just a few bites on each plate. Finally the human placed her fork down on the tray and took a large gulp of the beverage she choose, which Tak noticed was the sweetest flavor of the Irken sodas the Resisty had in stock.
The human wiggled in her seat, greatly annoying Tak. The human couldn't seem to stay still, so it was slightly jarring when she froze for a fraction of a second then jumped up in her chair and rapidly flailed her arms.
"HI!" she shouted startling the two Irkens who were still arguing. Tak looked to where the human was looking but didn't see anything noteworthy. However, the human continued to flail until a crew member sitting a few tables away looked around and then hesitantly waved back.
Miz fell into a fit of giggled, then turned and shouted "HI!" in a different direction flailing until another crew member waved back. Turning completely around she almost fell out of her chair as she repeated this process. Each time she got a response she would laugh in delight and change directions. Tak glanced around and observed those sitting around them laughing along. Like it was a game a few shouted "hi" and waved until Miz turned and waved at them.
Suddenly, the human gasped and her eyes widened. Before anyone at their table could react, Miz jumped down and ran through around the tables until she stood right next to a blue-furred Tamer, a species resembling an Earth werewolf that was known for taming rare and dangerous beasts. The human stood next to the Tamer and her eyes were glued to the six-legged Snarl Beast sitting on the table as the Tamer ate his sandwich.
"Can I pet your space kitty?" Miz asked with large pleading eyes.
"You can try," the Tamer responded smugly.
Tak jumped out of her seat the moment she saw the human's destination. Using her PAK legs she rushed over as the human extended her hand towards the deadly creature. Tamers might be able to keep their beasts subdued, but that did not extend to others. Everyone knew this, so the Tamer probably thought the human was joking, stupid, or suicidal. In either case Tamers were also known for not stopping their beasts should they rampage due to another's action. They tamed beasts to gain recognition. It wasn't as impressive if anyone would just go up and touch the beasts they made their own.
Tak vaulted over tables ignoring the angry protests as her PAK legs scattered trays. If the human was eaten on her watch it would be a great failure for her. She'd never live it down. She yelled at the human to stop, but Miz's attention was hyper focused on the deceptively small cat-like creature.
Miz held out her hand near the Snarl Beast, "Hi, Kitty," Miz said. "You are the prettiest Kitty I have ever seen. Nice Kitty," she said as the Snarl Beast sniffed her extended fingers. "Do you like space cookies?" Miz asked pulling out a cookie she had put in her pocket for later. Cake didn't fit as well in her pockets, she'd tried it before, but cookies did. One of the snacks she picked out was a plate of cookies. After having a few she made sure to save some in her pocket for her Daddy.
The Snarl Beast flatten then perked up its ears as the Tamer frowned. Leaning forward it took the cookie from Miz's hand. The Snarl Beast's body trembled and the Tamer swore in his native language and leapt back as the small Snarl Beast changed forms. Expanding greatly in size its main head snapped loudly as it consumed the offering. The front four legs reared up and revealed four more mouths filled with sharp teeth snapping loudly. The crew members nearby fell back in terror, but the human stayed still her eyes widening further. The Tamer rapidly spoke into his communicator, asking permission to fire his weapons to subdue the Snarl Beast.
Tak reached the human as she pulled four more cookies from her pocket. Thinking that the fear made the human go mad, Tak withdrew her PAKs phasers as the human giggled.
"Such a hungry kitty," Miz said and tossed a cookie towards one of the side mouths. "One," she counted as the mouth snapped forward to grab the cookie out of the air, "Two," she threw another cookie which was quickly snatched up by another mouth. "Three, four," she said and pulled her pockets inside out. "No more cookies. Don't worry Daddy won't get mad. He says it is good to share."
Tak's phasers were ready to fire but before she could the Snarl Beast shrank back down and curled up on the table closing its eyes.
"Nice Kitty," Miz praised and gently pat the Snarl Beast on the head and scratched under its chin eliciting a purr from the small blue creature. "What's your kitty's name?" Miz asked the stunned Tamer.
"How did you know the secret Taming techniques?" the Tamer asked glaring down menacingly at the small human and leaning down low to growl in her face.
Miz blinked at the tall blue furred alien, it seemed she hadn't really looked at him before having been so distracted by the space kitty. "Awe!" Miz said squishing her cheeks together with her palms. "A Space Doggie!" she reached out and patted the startled Tamer on his snout. "Good Doggie."
Tak watched in a dumbfounded daze as the Tamer's tail slightly swayed back and forth. "Human," Tak said in a commanding voice, drawing the little girl's attention back to her. "How did you know how to tame a Snarl Beast?"
Miz's face scrunched up in confusion and she glanced back to the sleeping Snarl Beast on the table. At Tak's voice the Tamer quickly straightened and smoothed down his blue jumpsuit. "You mean the Kitty?" Miz asked and continued before Tak could answer. "Who doesn't like cookies?" she said seemingly baffled at Tak's confusion. "I-Oh! What's that?" Miz pointed excitedly and darted off to stand before a slug-like alien.
As Tak neared the human darted off again her attention drawn by another crew member. The human bounced around the cafeteria, staying in one place long enough to gawk at the crew members then darting off again. Tak didn't feel like making a fool of herself chasing after the human and watched and waited until the human ran somewhat close to her giggling as she leapt around to the next alien that caught her attention.
Lightening fast Tak darted out and snatched up the human under her arm and carried the giggling girl back to their table. "Do not leave this table," Tak instructed firmly.
"Kinda makes you want to reproduce your own offspring, am I right?" Jayka Nar said biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing at Tak glare.
"I have never been more relieved that Irken smeets do not behave in such ways," Tak said. "And where are you going?" Tak glared at the human as she slid way down in her seat and under the table.
"I'm not leaving the table," Miz said with a giggle and she popped up in between Skoodge and Zim. She grinned widely at Skoodge and then turned to Zim. "I have a secret," she whispered to Zim who glared down at her. "Do you want to hear it?" she whispered loudly.
Zim glared at her but leaned down to grab the front of her shirt. "Tell me your secrets Dirt child."
Miz giggled then slapped the front of Zim's face with her small hand, momentarily stunning the Irken. Pulling her hand away she wiggled her thumb in-between two of her other fingers. "I got your nose," she said in a sing-song voice.
"How dare you assault the Mighty Zim!" Zim shouted at the child, pulling her closer. "And Irkens do not have such inferior things."
"Yes you do," Miz said "And I've got it. I've got your nooose," she sang wiggling her thumb then slipped out of Zim's grasp by slipping out of her hoodie. Giggling she crawled around to the other side of Skoodge next to Jayka Nar. "Look!" Miz pointed to Zim. "He's got no nose!"
"Oh my!" Jayka Nar said in fake surprise, as she played along. "You are right, he doesn't have a nose. Zim, you may need to go to see Zen later to get that checked out."
Zim glared at Jayka Nar. "Have you the brainworms? I have no nose."
"Because I've got it," Miz said with a giggle. Then whispered as loud as she could, "I've. Got. Your. Noooooose." She then stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry. "And you can't have it," she taunted and wiggled her trapped thumb at him.
Zim's eye twitched. Then he lunged across the table. "Give it to Zim!"
Miz squealed in childish delight and ducked under the table, quickly crawling under and popping back up in Zim's seat as Zim knocked into Skoodge and Jayka Nar.
"Zim, calm down, she's just playing," Jayka Nar said grabbing onto Zim's arm and holding him in place before he could lunge back at the infuriating human.
"She stole from Zim!" Zim pointed at the human.
"Zim," Jayka Nar was exasperated, but at the same time a small smile curled the corner of her lips. "You know she didn't take anything. You don't have a nose."
A faint blue dusted across Zim's face, though from embarrassment or rage, Jayka Nar couldn't tell. "I will not be mocked by such an inferior species!" Zim shouted back still pointing at Miz.
"I will not be mocked, blah blah blah," Miz said and stuck her tongue out at Zim.
"How dare you, inferior human dirt worm," Zim glared at her. "Stop your noise hole at once!"
"Stop your noise hole at once," Miz repeated.
"Zim will not stop, it is you who must stop!" Zim slammed his hands on the table.
"Zim will not stop, it is you who must stop," Miz repeated also placing her hands on the table.
Zim narrowed his eyes at Miz. "Stop that."
"Stop that."
"I Zim command you to stop!"
"I Zim command you to stop."
"No, I am Zim!"
"No, I am Zim."
"Stupid human worm baby!"
"Stupid human worm baby."
"Have you the brainworms inferior Earth monkey, that is lesser than Zim? Stop your robot repeaty repeating-ness of repeating filthy lies."
"Have you the brainworms...monkey that…" Miz screwed up her face as she tried to remember what Zim had said.
"HA!" Zim placed his hands on his hips. "Victory for Zim!"
Miz folded her arms across her chest and made a grumpy, humph sound. While pouting her eyes fell onto the tray in front of her, Zim's tray. On it was an unopened bag of what looked like a picture of chips on the front. Miz eyed Zim as he continued to laugh and gloat at his victory. Slowly Miz reached out her hand and almost immediately Zim's laughter stopped. He narrowed his eyes at her. Making eye contact Miz stuck out her tongue and snatched up the bag. She didn't even have time to escape before a metal claw clamped around her middle, squeezing a little too hard. Miz made a noise similar to a squeezy toy and she was dragged up into the air and came face to face with a very angry Zim.
"Give Zim back his snacks," he said in a low and threatening voice.
Miz was surprised that she had been caught so easily, but she still didn't want to admit defeat so quickly. Clutching the bag close she said, "You have to say please."
Zim had a long and exhausting day. After capturing Dib he had to deal with the annoying chatter of the Dib's offspring all the way back to the Resisty, then he was scolded by the Captain and was ordered to come and socialize. In retaliation he ordered three round of snacks, which was over the rationed amount.
While eating he kept brooding about many things, Dib among them. Until the recent information about Dib's offspring's origin, Zim felt an odd sense of betrayal at the thought of Dib procreating. When the Tallest tricked him into leaving Earth by calling him to the Massive, he spent the next several years suffering greatly.
Besides the physical torture and horrible experiments conducted on his body, the words that were spoken to him, the truths that he was shown, those caused him to truly understand what agony felt like. However, on the darkest most painful days when his will was broken and his mind in chaos, he would be able to recover and regain his self-awareness whenever his thoughts focused on his time on Earth. No matter what was said, no matter what he experienced, Zim knew that on Earth there was one who cursed him, who took him seriously, who fought with him because he believed that Zim was capable and a threat. The knowledge that his enemy Dib was also suffering on Earth, dreading his return, kept Zim going.
After being rescued by the Resisty and after years of listening to Lard Nar's babble, Zim was able to let some of his pain go. The Resisty gave him a chance to prove that those words were wrong, that those truths were false. Now that he had purpose and he was needed, Zim was finally able to let go of Dib as his enemy and allow him to join the Resisty.
But finding out that Dib had moved on in his life, that was unforgivable. Zim suffered greatly and survived on the basis of their epic rivalry, yet Dib forgot about everything. Dib forgot about him and moved on. He became just another human. He found a mate and procreated and continued his life. What did their years of fighting mean if he could forget so completely about Zim?
Of course no one on the Resisty would ever understand Zim's feelings on this. They couldn't. They hadn't suffered as he had. But he couldn't release his anger on Dib, he couldn't jeopardize his new mission. It was all he had left.
But…
Maybe Dib hadn't forgotten about him. He hadn't moved on and taken a mate. Maybe Dib still held their battles in high regard. Maybe the human created a clone to train to fight Zim in the future, though the results obviously resulted in failure. After all only Dib was worthy to be his enemy.
This relief swept through Zim. He had his enemy back, this new small human didn't matter. Zim was the most vibrant existence in Dib's mind. While sneering at the human, inside Zim was elated. He almost felt like he was back on Earth and the Dib was off plotting some sneak attack. Zim had to prepare himself to meet the human again. Maybe he would be attacked on sight. He had caught the human off guard before, even with the Captain's speech, surely it couldn't diminish the flame of rage in Dib's body. When they met again, it would just be like the old times when all Zim had to worry about was Dib sneaking into his base and Gir breaking his equipment and eating his way through Zim's supplies.
Because of his new revelations and the relief he felt at knowing that Dib didn't betray him, his mind wasn't completely focused on the events in front of him. It wasn't that he didn't know where he was or who was in front of him, but his full processing power wasn't on the present. His mind was drifting slightly as he thought about the past, which was unusual for an Irken. They focused all their attention on the now on what was going on in front of them. So, something very rare happened to Zim.
"Release my snacks!" Zim said to the child in a demanding voice, however what he thought he said wasn't what he actually said.
Because he was thinking about the past, he had a slip of the tongue. However, he didn't notice he had said anything different. It wasn't until the table when quiet that he sensed the mood had changed. Glancing around the three were starting at him in shock and the few others near their table suddenly avoided looking in their direction.
"Miz," Tak said in a too calm voice. "Give Zim back his snacks."
"But he didn't say please," Miz whined.
"NOW!" Tak barked making Miz flinch and her lower lip quiver.
She dropped the bag and Zim set her down on the table, looking at his comrades suspiciously. Tak would never willingly do something for his benefit.
Miz crawled backwards and sat in her seat again. She didn't like being yelled at it felt bad. She knew that she shouldn't have taken Zim's stupid snacks, but she still didn't want to apologize. It was Zim's fault for being mean. It was his fault she got yelled at by Lady Tak. So she wasn't ready yet to be quiet and good. Her hands pressed to her knees she glared at Zim with resentful and angry tears welling up.
"My name is Miz," she said glaring at Zim and not noticing the look of panic on the others' faces. "Not Gir."
Zim went completely still and moved just his eyes to look at the human. "What did you say?" he almost whispered.
"You called me Gir, that's not my name. My name is Miz," she said crossing her arms across her chest and dropping her eyes refusing to look up. "Stupid head," she muttered under her breath.
Zim kept his eyes pinned to the small human. He couldn't look away. If he did he might meet eyes with the others at the table and he didn't want to know what their expressions were.
Fortunately and unfortunately he wouldn't have to worry about the expressions of his companions. An achingly familiar voice called out to him.
"Zim!" Dib said rapidly approaching their table. From across the cafeteria he'd seen Zim grab his daughter and then drop her on the table. "What are you…" his anger died as he neared and saw the expression of his old nemesis. Dib stared at Zim, who stared back at him.
"What-" Dib didn't get to finish his question as Zim's PAK legs popped out and scurried him across the cafeteria and out the door. Dib watched not believing what he was seeing. "What in Einstein's name just happened?" Dib asked no one in particular but still wanted someone else to confirm that Zim had just run away.
"Progress," Ixane's wispy voice said next to him. "This way, Dib, I will show you how to work the foodening system."
"I'll help!" Miz said perking up and grabbing her daddy's hand, wanting to get away before Lady Tak could tell him that she was in trouble.
Dib took Miz's hand and glancing quickly at the others at the table he nodded and followed Ixane.
When the two humans left the table Jayka Nar let out the breath she had been holding. "Well," she said trying to laugh. "That could have gone worse." She then grew thoughtful. "I wonder what Ixane knows to say this was progress. It didn't feel very progressive to me."
"No one was hurt," Skoodge offered. "And nothing was broken."
Jayka Nar gave a short laugh. "Well, yes, I suppose when Zim is involved that is considered progress."
Tak didn't respond, but she did meet Skoodge's eyes and gave him a knowing look. "Skoodge you will take over escort duties for me. I need to report to the Captain," she said then left, barely waiting for Skoodge's nod.
Jayka Nar watched Tak leave. "You talked to Lard Nar?" Jayka Nar asked, as Skoodge's friend he had consulted her first about Zim's situation. Skoodge nodded. "It looks like Tak is aware of everything too. Progress, huh?" Jayka Nar mused as she turned to watch the two humans by the scanner. "Maybe."
Tak has clearly never been around small children, everyone who has knows to never let them eat too much sugar (or at least not when you have to stay around them afterwards) lol
