Note: Okay okay okay, how about, a New Year's Resolution to write nothing but happy-go-lucky stories, where nothing bad happens, and everyone gets exactly what they want by the end?... mph…..pfff…mmmm….BWAHAHAHAHAAHAA…. ehehe, I crack myself up. Serious note though, it was brought up that there was some confusion as to who Red was talking about in the flashback Gaz showed Zim. For the record, the "She" referred to by Red was the Smeet's mother, not the smeet. The smeet was definitely Zim.

…..

DarkBooty grimaced. "I know you said freeze, but he's really heavy, can I?"

"Set him down." Zim glowered, watching as the man carefully set the robot down, putting a hand to his lower back as he straightened. "What have you done to GIR?"

"Nothing." DarkBooty rubbed his back. "Didn't do nothing. Came out here to look for you, dumb thing jumped me from behind, kissed my head, and called me a muffin, then went to sleep. I figured it was tracking you and just got distracted, and I was going to come out and talk to you anyway."

Zim remained perched in the tree, feeling better with a height advantage. "Yes, and have you brought all your other smelly Eyeballs with you too? Armed and ready to drag Zim back no doubt."

DarkBooty shook his head. "Just me. Unarmed."

"Likely story!"

DarkBooty put his hands up. "Look, believe what you want. I'm here to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yeah, we saw everything that happened on your front lawn."

Zim grimaced. Of course Dib wasn't the only one with surveillance technology. Everyone guessed the Eyeballs watched his every move. "What about it?"

"Well, you've got a pretty messed up Irken around here, I'm guessing."

Zim laid his antennae back, warily. DarkBooty had referred to Red as an Irken, not by his name. He'd had dealings with Red before, so the Eyeballs' surveillance hadn't picked up whatever words he and Gaz had exchanged. They didn't know who the Irken was.

Let's keep it that way.

"What of it?" Zim demanded.

"We thought you might want some of your technology back." DarkBooty shrugged nonchalantly.

Zim's eyes widened. "My technology? It was confiscated by the government."

DarkBooty looked annoyed. "Most of it, but we got there first. Mothman made a mistake alerting the government about you first, he was so desperate for approval. Fortunately, when he figured out what was going on, he told us. We got to your base a few hours before they did. We got what we could before they completely gutted it." He rocked back on his heels. "We don't know what some of it is, some of it we tortured out of the last few exchange prisoners."

Zim shuddered at that. Poor Skoodge.

"One of the machines, we're told, is a full medical restoration pod."

Zim's head jerked up. The medical pod, it was exactly what he needed. Even with his help, healing the damage done to Red would take weeks, and every moment would be torture. If he could get Red into the medical pod, it would be a matter of hours, not weeks, for full physical restoration.

"What terms are you proposing?" Zim gripped his laser tightly.

DarkBooty's eyes narrowed a little. "You will come to our facility every day for seven days. You will spend at least three hours with us, during which time you will answer any question we put to you, and you will submit to one test of our choosing. At the end of three hours, we will release you."

The casing of Zim's laser cracked slightly under his grip. Zim growled, "Any excuse to get your filthy tools back in my guts, right DarkBooty?"

DarkBooty raised an eyebrow. "Nobody said anything about tools. I said a test. It could be anything from a skin sample, to an IQ analysis, to an endurance exam. Whatever it may be, we choose it."

Zim frowned. "And no cutting Zim open?"

DarkBooty stuck his hands in his pockets. "Consider it a seven day truce. Nobody will cut you open."

Uneasily, Zim lowered his laser, staring hard at the elderly man before him. He hadn't hurt GIR, he'd come here alone, he'd promised no surgery… just questions and tests. And Zim sorely needed that medical pod.

Sticking his laser back in his PAK, he frowned. "You will transport the pod here. I will move it to my new location afterward."

DarkBooty blinked. "You'll move that thing by yourself? It's huge! It took four of us to lift it!"

Zim waved a hand dismissively. "Just put it on the pig, if you have the pig, and it will hover right over."

DarkBooty started. "That pig is a transportation device? Not a single prisoner could tell us what the heck that was."

Zim gave a crooked grin. "That was the genius of Zim." His smile vanished. "When you bring the pod, leave a map of where to find you. Zim will…" He swallowed. "Follow shortly. But if anything happens to me, I will have GIR alert the government, understood?"

DarkBooty nodded. "Understood. I'll have operatives bring it over in a couple of hours. Be ready for them." His eyes glinted a little. "See you later today then." With that, he turned, walking off.

…..

At the edge of the forest, Agent Disembodied Head intercepted DarkBooty.

"Sir, you think this is smart, man? The alien could give us the slip and all, take the pod and run."

DarkBooty shook his head. "I've been observing him for the past five years, Disembodied Head. The alien has some kind of code of honor, it's why he continues to work with the Membrane woman. If he says he'll come, he'll come."

"And the bomb you planted in the robot's head?"

"Awaiting my signal. There won't be anyone to tell the government."

"You really gonna just ask him questions and stuff for a week?"

DarkBooty grinned. "Absolutely. By the end of a week, we will know every weakness he has, and exactly how to exploit it. On day eight, he won't just come to us. He'll run to us. And then," he finished darkly, "He will pay in full."

Note: OOH! I got one, here's a great New Year's Resolution, how about— how about I glance slowly to my right, see Zim with a noose and the Grinch with a shovel… and decide to keep my big mouth shut?