The Moth and the Butterfly

by Wendy Bunny

Dib has a new partner named Wendy (OC) to help him defeat Zim, but things start to get complicated as her feelings for Dib grow and the duo is pitted against a greater threat to mankind. Will their mission to save earth tear them apart or bring them together? The story title is a reference to Dib's alias known as Agent Mothman. Written from Wendy's POV.

10. Chapter 10

Dib's POV:

There were no exact words to describe the feelings that were going through me as I watched Wendy leave that night. Honestly, it was as if my heart had been brutally

wrenched out of my chest and savagely picked apart, leaving behind a gaping cavity of

emptiness that made me even less of a human being. It was the worst I've felt in years, even worse than all the times I had been denied vindication no matter how

hard I tried to prove the paranormal. This sudden sadness...this guilt...this regret that was filling me had never resurfaced since...since what had happened to Mom.

Now like the ghosts I've been chasing, it was all coming back to haunt me and I just couldn't figure out why! What was it about this girl that was so captivating, and

why was I so afraid of losing her?

Normally, I could have caught up to her at lightning fast speed as I begged her to give me a second chance, but at this rate I didn't have the strength nor the spirit to

do so. As much as I hated the idea, the best thing to do was to give her some space

while I took this time to collect my thoughts on what she had confessed to me tonight. Wendy disappeared like a lonely phantom into the night as I was left standing

alone with Gaz. I helplessly looked to my little sister for some kind of support, even the slightest piece of advice on how else I should go about this. "Don't!" she held

up both hands, thoroughly fed up .

"I'm not getting involved with this. Whatever issues you're having right now, you two are just going to have to work out yourselves. I've been let in on this 'thing'

between you a lot more than I could stomach." She then turned on her heel as she marched towards the front door, opening and slamming it behind her. I was about

to head inside myself when I noticed

something in front of me. A purple notebook lying open and face down on the sidewalk. I immediately recognized it to be Wendy's from the bunny doodles all over the

cover. The very one I've seen her scribbling in everyday during classes. It must have fallen out of her book bag after she ran off. I knelt down, careful not to bend the

splayed pages as I scooped it up, closed it then headed inside after Gaz.

I couldn't sleep. I just stood there up in my black lit room deep in thought. What Wendy had told me tonight felt so unreal that it seemed like a dream. As her last

words played over and over inside my brain, the more awestruck I became. I also felt more guilty. The purple notebook lay in the middle of my bed, calling to me. For

the longest time, I toyed with the idea

of opening and reading whatever deep dark secrets it contained. After several minutes of staring at it, I was about to pick it up then withdrew my hand. No, I can't. It's

private. She wouldn't want me reading whatever was inside. It was none of my business whatever it was. Then again, it could just be notes she'd been taking in class.

Still, I shouldn't. But what if there's stuff in there about me? I need to know! I need to know what she really thinks about me. No. It doesn't concern me. It has nothing

to do with me whatsoever.

I was about to hide the temptation by stowing the notebook away in a drawer, but being the nosy person that I was, I flipped it open to the first page as I let my

eager eyes devour the words. I was in shock. The entire thing was filled with poems.

Love poems all in Wendy's handwriting. But they could never be about me...could they? As I read on, the more I began to question that belief. This was all so...unreal.

No girl has ever referred to me as a "raven haired Adonis".

To all the girls at 'skool' I was always just "Crazy Dib" A freak. A misfit. Just the thought of being wanted so cherished, so special to someone

felt...nice. No. Not just nice. It felt great! Great enough to make my head explode with touchy feely goodness! I couldn't help myself as I suddenly jumped up and

shouted, "YES! YES! SHE REALLY DOES LIKE ME!" Realizing I could have woken the entire house, I shut my mouth. My excitement, however was suddenly diminished

once again by those sickening pangs of guilt.

Those superpowers. They really didn't turn out to be as cool and glamorous as I'd thought. Sure, they had helped me save the world but they made me heartless.

What good were they if it meant losing someone who really cared for you? I've spent so many years of my life pursuing paranormal monsters that not once, did the

thought of having a soul mate ever cross my mind. I never thought I would actually need one, but I did. I needed her. If I let her slip away, I may have lost my only

chance of being truly happy. Tomorrow, I will set things right. First thing in the morning, I would stop by my dad's lab and have him extract these horrible alien

produced powers from my body. If it meant having Wendy, I wouldn't mind being just plain old Dib again.

I continued to read the poems before my eyes began to droop. Eventually, I dozed off some time into the early hours of the morning.

Wendy's POV:

Valentine's Day. The one day I'd been dreading all month was finally here. Bright sunlight poured in through the curtains, mocking me with its golden cheerfulness.

With an angry grunt, I yanked the blankets over my head and retreated into miserable darkness. Moments later, my cell phone vibrated loudly on the nightstand next

to me. Confused, I reemerged from the pile of blankets. For all I know, it could have been Keef. I mean who else could it be? Grabbing up the cell phone, I checked the

caller ID and suddenly felt really sick. Dib's house. Oh god. I could feel the cold sweat on my brow as I stared down at the phone in my hand. What was I supposed to

do? What would he say if I picked up? Would he make fun of me for what I told him last night?

Would he reject me harshly? My thumb darted frantically towards and away from the answer button as I struggled with my decision as to whether or not I should just

let it go to voice mail.

In the end, I decided I was going to have to face him sometime. Besides, it's not like I haven't been rejected before. Might as well get used to it. As I clicked 'answer', I

shakily brought the phone towards my lips. "H-hello?"

"Wendy, it's Gaz," answered the voice on the other end. My other hand flew to my chest as I exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Oh jeez," I started "Thank god it was just you, Gaz. What's up?" "So I told my dad all about our zombie problem. He just sent a hazmat crew over to the 'skool' to

bring the ones you and Dib locked up back to his lab, but he needs you to be there too."

Me? But what for?" Gaz gave an impatient sigh. "You're the one with the miracle cure, remember? He's going to extract

Zim's pus from your arm and inject them with it so that they can all go back to their normal, stupid lives."

"Oh right. Are you sure he's going to have enough to cure them all though? Almost the entire 'skool' has been infected."

"He said something about cloning the DNA to make sure there's a substantial amount, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you think he's going to find out that it's from an alien?" "I really doubt he's going to believe that," said Gaz "Anyway, you should hurry over there. He's got a busy

schedule and can't wait long. I'll give you the address to his lab."

I quickly grabbed a pen and paper and jotted it down as she told it to me. "Okay, got it." "Cool. Well, I gotta go. Talk to you later, okay?" "Gaz?" "What?" "I just

wanted to say thanks for all your help with everything and for comforting me last night when I was feeling down. You didn't even have to do any of that, but the fact

that you did anyway meant a lot to me.

You're a good friend." There was slight pause on the other end that was eventually followed by a lukewarm laugh.

"I think 'friend' might be too strong of a word right now, but I have to admit that you're not as...annoying as everyone

else around here. In fact, you're almost tolerable." I gave a soft laugh of my own. "Thanks Gaz! If I were there right now, I'd totally hug you." "Well, then it's a good

thing I got the distance from my house to yours protecting me otherwise, I'd have to throw soda in your face." We laughed again and said our final goodbyes before

hanging up. Gaz and I certainly had a very interesting relationship.

I was just about ready to leave to see Professor Membrane when a female voice sounded from my bedroom computer.

"Agent Butterfly, are you there? Come in Agent Butterfly." Hell of a time for the Swollen Eyeballs to be calling me.

I hurried over to the dark figure of the woman on my screen. "Hi. I'm here. Who's this?" "This is Agent Nessie," the woman replied. "Darkbooty was supposed to

contact you this morning to see how the latest investigation went with you and Mothman. However, he couldn't on account of he was-" "Still butt hurt over me making

fun of his name?" I finished helpfully.

"Yeah, pretty much," Nessie replied with a shrug. "Figures," I sighed. For the next five minutes, I told her all about the events that happened last night. She seemed to

be completely stunned by the fact that aliens had been responsible for the whole thing.

Normally, I would have sounded more excited over something like this, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe I would

have been better off if the world had ended.

"Alright honey," Professor Membrane said, withdrawing the syringe needle from my arm. "I think that should just about do it,"

He handed it to one of the control group members as they went to inject the last few zombies with Zim's remaining pus. "You may have a sore spot there for a while

but it should heal up nicely within a week." "Thanks Professor," I said, staring in awe at my renewed skin. It was a miracle to see my arm return to normal again. The

scientist crossed the lab to the chemistry table.

He picked up a test tube containing more neon green pus and held it up to the light. "Any idea of what it might be?" I humored him.

"I haven't a clue just yet," Membrane said. "I'm going to examine it further until I can determine the source. This is just incredible! Whatever it is just may be the new

out of this world cure for all sorts of diseases!" I bit my lip. If Dib's father

discovered its true source, this could be bad news for Zim. "Well," I said. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to head out."

"Yes, yes," Membrane said, distracted. "Of course. Thank you again for all your help." "No problem," I said. "Bye," I got up out of the chair, cradling my arm in my hand

before stopping in the doorway. "And Professor?" He stopped and turned to me, looking so much like Dib with his spiky mad scientist hair. "You should really believe in

your son a lot more."

For a moment, he just stood there studying me. His eyes showed no emotion at all behind those blue goggles. He was such a cold and distant man, it was as if he

were made of concrete. He said nothing more as he turned his back to me and continued with his work. After leaving the lab, I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of

sadness for Dib's father. He really had put up an emotional barrier since his wife's passing.

Dib's POV:

"Dib. Hey stupid, wake up!" A distant voice echoed as if it were coming from somewhere inside another dimension. I figured I must have been dreaming so I stayed

asleep. That was until someone had punched my arm. "Ow!" I jerked awake to see

Gaz standing over me. "What was that for?" I demanded as I rubbed the tender spot where she had hit me.

"Do you want to see Wendy again or not?" she said. As soon as she said the name, I sat up in excitement. "Wendy? You mean she's here?" Gaz rolled her eyes at me.

"No, genius. She's at Dad's lab. He needed her so he could cure everyone at 'skool'. If you hurry, maybe you can still catch her." I was unable to contain my happiness

as I sprang from my bed and Wendy's notebook crashed to the floor. "This is great!" Scooping it back up, I gave my sister a grateful kiss on the head before dashing

out of my room. "You do realize I'm going to have to destroy you for that!" Gaz called after me.

I was completely out of breath by the time I reached my dad's lab. Breezing through the entrance, I found him cleaning out a few beakers. "I got here as fast as I

could," I gasped "Is she still here?" Dad turned to me with a puzzled look on his face before he finally understood who I was referring to.

"Oh you mean the girl with the glowing arm? She left no more than ten minutes ago." "No!" I tugged at my hair in frustration.
If only I hadn't slept in so late I would have made it here in time! I felt like kicking something. "You can't meet up with her later?" Dad suggested. Feeling defeated, I

breathed a long heavy sigh. "Yeah. Yeah, I will but first, I need you to do something for me Dad."

Finally the accursed super powers were removed from my body. I was feeling woozy as I wobbled out of my dad's lab and onto the sidewalk, but at least I felt like

myself again. Now there was only one thing left to do. I dug my cell phone out of my trench coat pocket and anxiously dialed Wendy's number. "Please pick up, please

pick up!" I tried at least three times but she wouldn't answer. Finally I decided to just leave a message. "Wendy are you there? Please pick up your phone. There's

something important I want to tell you so as soon as you get this can you please just...you know what? Never mind, I'm coming over!"

With that, I clicked off and headed straight for her house.

I had managed to collect a few daisies from the park along with another gift I brought from home. I was completely clueless when it came to girls but I was pretty sure

they liked receiving flowers on Valentine's Day. As I walked up to Wendy's front stoop, I rang the doorbell and waited nervously for an answer. Her mom opened the

door a few seconds later, her long auburn hair hanging radiantly over her shoulders. She greeted me with a warm, friendly smile.

In fact, it was the only smile anyone had given me today now that I think about it. "Dib!" she exclaimed "It's so good to see you! Come on in. Wendy's upstairs in her

room." "Thanks," I said as I stepped inside. She then noticed the daisies in my hand.

"Oh that's so sweet! She's going to love those! You go on up. I'm sure she's going to be really jazzed to see you!"

"I certainly hope so," I muttered to myself as I started up the stairs.

Despite Wendy's bedroom door being ajar, it was dead silent in there. So silent I was beginning to think that maybe she got my message and stepped out to avoid

me. Pushing that thought aside, I knocked on the door anyway. "Wendy? Are you in there?

It's Dib. Can I talk to you?" No response. I pulled the door open to find her sitting at the foot of her bed.

She couldn't have looked more mortified to see me. "Hi," I said. "Can I come in?" She hesitated, considering the question. Finally she nodded. As soon as I entered her

room, she suddenly sprang from the bed, her hands held up in a defensive manner.

"Dib, listen. Before you rip out my heart and stomp on it, let me just say that-" "Rip out your heart?" I asked, surprised.

"Is that what you think I came here for?" She was silent at first. Then she noticed my hands behind my back.

"What are you holding?" When I revealed the pathetic little bouquet of daisies, she was in total disbelief.

"Those...are for me?" "Of course they are, silly!" I said, stepping closer to her. "Wendy, I want to apologize for the way I've been acting. It was the super powers. It

wasn't me. I think it was part of Zim's plan to tear us apart." "Oh," she said. "That makes sense." "I just had my dad remove them." She picked her gaze up from the

floor as she studied me again. "You did?"

"Yeah," I said. "The whole thing was just making me crazy. Ever since I first got those powers, I changed. I had these wild mood swings, I became more isolated, more

arrogant and thoughtless. Worst of all, I ended up hurting you in the process.

I finally met a girl who understands and believes in me and my crazy ideas. One who is beautiful, down to earth, witty and compassionate. One who liked me for who I

was and I pushed her away."

I looked down shamefully at my boots. "You were right, Wendy. I was being 'big headed'. Figuratively speaking anyway," When I looked up again, her hazel eyes were

misting with emotion. "I want all that to change now," I continued.

I want us to have a real relationship. Not just as partners in paranormal investigation but as a couple." As I took her hand, her eyes widened incredulously. "Are you

serious?" I nodded. "I'm very serious. Wendy, me without you would be like Moulder without Scully. You complete me as a paranormal investigator as well as a human

being. I strongly believe that you are my soulmate. Why do you think I've been more successful at my job lately? Why I've been much happier? Wendy it's because of you!"

I watched as that humble shyness I loved about her set in again. I smiled as I gave her the flowers then dug into my coat pocket.

"There's something else I want you to have," I held out an antique silver locket with a butterfly etched inside.

"It was my mother's favorite necklace. I want you to have it now." Suddenly Wendy's eyes filled with tears. "Dib, I can't accept this! It was your mother's! It's special to

you. I just smiled as I gently brushed her tears away. "Well, you're special to me as well so I trust you with it." I placed it in her hand, enclosing it with her fingers.

"Open it up," I said. As instructed, she undid the locket's tiny latch and gasped in surprise. "It's a photo of me and you on the night we saw the meteor," I explained.

"The camera happened to catch us hugging under the stars as the meteor flew by." A hand flew to her mouth as she choked back a sob. "Dib," she whispered. "This is

just...incredible."

I placed a hand under her chin, tipping her face up towards mine until our eyes met momentarily. "So Wendy, will you be the butterfly to my moth?" She smiled through

her tears as she understood what I meant then whispered, "Yes!"

I continued to bring her face closer to mine, allowing my fingers to get lost inside her golden hair. Before I knew it, I was kissing her. The sensation was indescribable.

It was as if several jolts of electric happiness were surging through me and that I could fly, really fly much better than I ever could have with super powers! It was also

addictive. She was addictive.

We had spent a good five minutes doing this before I eventually pulled away to take in her beauty. "I've spent so many years of my life pursuing every type of

creature," I whispered sincerely. "I've never encountered an angel, as cliche' as that may sound, it's the truth." "That's no cliche' at all," Wendy reassured me.

"because it's the first time anyone has ever said that to me."

"That surprises me considering how heavenly you are," I replied. Then I cracked a grin. "So since you get to be an angel, does this mean I get to be Adonis?" Wendy's

eyes grew wide with dismay. "What?" In response, I took out her notebook and handed it to her. "You dropped this outside my house last night." "Oh god...you didn't

see...did you?" Wendy gave me that infamous deer-in-the-headlights look she always did whenever she was caught in an awkward situation. It was adorable.

"Sorry," I laughed. "I couldn't resist!" Finally she recovered from her embarrassment and laughed too. "Oh well! I guess it doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

Wendy's POV:

Words couldn't describe how overjoyed I was after Dib had finally kissed me. If I didn't know better, I would have thought I had dreamt the whole thing. When I woke

up the next morning, I smiled to myself when the daisies on my nightstand proved that it had all been real. Around noon, I decided to walk over to Zim's 'house' since

my bike was still there.

I also figured it couldn't hurt to drop in for a quick hello at the same time. I knocked on the ridiculous restroom door and waited.

GIR answered almost immediately. His large cyan eyes flashed with excitement once he saw me.

"HIIIII!" he squealed. "Hey GIR," I said "Is your master home?" "YEAH!" With that, he quickly dashed away.

A few minutes later, Zim appeared in the doorway, looking worn and indifferent with my visit. "And what brings you to my base again, Wendy human?" "I came to get

my bike," I said. "I left it outside on your lawn, but also I um, wanted to thank you for helping us the other night and for saving my life. You really can be a nice alien

when you want to be Zim."

"Yes, yes I can be quite the savior," he said sarcastically. "So," I said. "Are you still going to try to destroy Earth now that Tak is out of the way?" Zim was quiet for a

moment. Then with a heavy sigh he said, "In all honesty, dirt child I was considering not destroying your planet at all." "Really?" I said excitedly. "That's great!" "Calm

yourself, wretched human! I only said I was considering it, I didn't say I was going to follow through on it." "Oh." I said, disappointed. Finally Zim gave in.

"Alright human, I will not harm your planet on one condition. You and the Dib monkey must put a halt to all your attempts to expose me. "

I nodded in agreement. It definitely seemed like a fair trade. I just hoped Zim would keep his end of the deal."I'll talk to Dib about it, but while we're on the subject, I

should warn you that Dib's father has your DNA at his lab. If some kind of action isn't taken soon then you might get discovered by the government." "There is no need

to worry," said Zim. "Zim has everything under control. It's nothing a little memory altering followed by theft of evidence won't fix." "Okay. Just long as you don't hurt him."

"You just love to spoil my fun, don't you?" muttered Zim. I beamed at him gratefully.

"I'm really glad we can finally work things out." "Don't go all soft and gooey on me," he warned. "Zim simply wants to coexist with you humans, not be your ally. That

has happened far too many times already. No matter what, you will always be slimy putrid worm babies."

I toyed with the idea of breaking the news to Zim about his brief fluffy bunny feelings for Gaz and me, but I just silently laughed about it. I didn't want to give him

another reason to nuke me. Still, that didn't mean I should let him off the hook so easily after all the drama he caused between Dib and I. "Now," he said, extending

his hand. "Do we have ourselves a deal? Zim will no longer threaten the human race as long as they don't threaten Zim?" I paused for a moment. Then with a

mischievous grin I said, "You've got yourself a deal, space boy." I shook his hand for a second and then I made my move. I pulled him into a hug.

Right away, Zim began screaming and squirming in my grasp. "AAAAAAHHH! GET OFF ME! I DON'T WANT YOUR INFECTIOUS EARTH GERMS ALL OVER MY PRISTINE FLESH!

I WILL DESTROY YOOOOOOOUUUUU!" "Aww I love you too Zim!" I trolled.

I was completely clean of Star Dancer slime. It was safe to hug him now and make him uncomfortable for a change.

Another week had gone by, and 'skool' was finally open again. Not a single student nor teacher remembered ever being a zombie. Everything was almost normal again

except for a few things. A lot of the kids seemed to have some kind of newfound respect for me and even greeted me with an occasional "what's up?" on campus. Best

of all, I had an amazing boyfriend who I proudly wore on my arm in spite of all the pointing and whispering that went on each time we walked down the hall hand in

hand.

"I knew it!" Jessica sniggered to Zita. "I totally knew those two freaks would end up together!" I just smiled and waved at them as we passed by. The other good

news was that Dib and Zim both eventually agreed to call an official truce.

I just hoped it would last because I was really indulging in the peace without them constantly being at each other's throats.

However, just because Zim wasn't bothering us anymore didn't mean we weren't keeping busy with other tasks.

That evening, Dib and I lay sprawled out on his roof doing one of our favorite things. Watching the stars. "Can you believe we were right up there with them?" I said,

gazing into the heavens. "That's one journey that's going to stay with me for the rest of my life." "I've been to space a handful of times," said Dib. "I've never thought

much of it until the last time. You being there just made it so different. More meaningful." His fingers reached for mine as they interlaced and I smiled at him. "I can't

wait to go back sometime, only can we do it without the creepy lovesick tentacle monsters next time?"

Dib laughed. "Hey, no promises there! I attract weird things wherever I go." "Like me?" I teased. "Not funny," He said, tapping me on the nose. "You're no weirder

than a kitten!" I laughed. "Speaking of monsters, did the Swollen Eyeballs tell you what we're dealing with next?" "Agent Disembodied Head mentioned the sighting of

some sort of lake siren in a small town not far from here." "Any idea what she looks like?" "Oh you know, small and petite, really cute with blonde hair, a delightful

personality and happens to be sitting right next to me. It looks like we're going to have to take you into custody. You've already stolen my heart. We can't let you steal

any other guys'!"

I screamed with laughter as he wrestled me onto my back but was soon silenced by his kiss. I pulled him closer, completely lost in ecstasy as we melted into one

another like chocolate. The experience was pure heaven until, "Dib! Dad wants you to come in for dinner. Hurry up or-" Gaz appeared at the top of the ladder and her

face quickly contorted like she was going to barf. "UGGGHHHH! GROSS! I'M GOING TO NEED NEW EYES AFTER SEEING THAT!" Dib and I laughed as she retreated her

way back down. "Oh Gaz," Dib sighed. "It's only a matter of time before you meet that special someone,"

He turned to me again, smiling as he brushed a lock of my hair back. "Now where were we?" He was about to kiss me again when we were distracted by another

sound. Across the street from us, something had fallen out of a tree. Or rather, someone.

Whoever it was scrambled up from the ground, waved enthusiastically in our direction before darting away.

In the moonlight, I caught a glimpse of red hair, and it was then when I recognized who it was. Dib gave me a look of confusion.

"What was that all about? Do we know him?" "Yeah," I replied. "It's a long story." I pulled him close and continued our kiss.

So there you have it. The day aliens invaded Earth was the day I found love. What were the odds of that?

It was the strangest fairytale ending I never would have expected. And I couldn't be any happier.