Note: Sorry, short chapter, but I have a bunch of things in development. I'd stay up and lengthen this, but I've got a job interview tomorrow, so sit tight, and go look at this artwork, which was the inspiration for this entire story. Bluesoru on DeviantArt, look for her drawing "Save Me".
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"And here with us today, via hoverscreen of a hoverscreen, is none other than the big Boss of the Swollen Eyeball network, here to tell us the latest news on the missing alien identified as 'Zim'."
On the dim screen of the ship computer floated a hoverscreen depicting a floating hoverscreen. A silhouette with intense violet eyes flashed a positively hungry grin at the camera and purred, "We were contacted by a rather disturbed woman, about two weeks after the alien had disappeared. She reported that she was watching over a woman who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, and a small robot that sang the word 'doom' incessantly. A team arrived, intending to investigate, and was met by said robot."
"Did they catch it?"
The grin spread wider. "Of course. In fact, it won't be long before we start running tests on it. I expect my experts to dismantle it by the end of the month."
"What about the woman?"
The grin faded slightly. "Oh, her? We sent her to the mental institution. If we believed every alien abduction story, there wouldn't be enough of the Swollen Eyeball to investigate other claims."
Thanking the Boss for his comments, the reporter turned back to the camera. "As you know, the disappearance of the alien's guardians has also raised questions, and police have taken the two girls they adopted into temporary custody, pending their return. If they aren't heard from within a month, authorities say, they will be returned to the adoption agency and the guardians will be charged with negligence. The Boss of the Swollen Eyeball has graciously offered to adopt the girls himself, and has hinted at the possibility of a better education and future for them."
Della's face had drained of color, and every muscle in Tom's was tense. Dib stared at the screen in a daze, and Zim stood, straightening. For a brief moment more, he lingered in the serene feeling he'd rested in the past week, then relinquished it and forced himself to rise, spine straight and shoulders thrown back.
"What are you fool-beings waiting for?" Startled, they turned to him. Immediately, recognition dawned on Dib's face, and he grinned. Although Zim pulled the arrogant alien, there was a more placid, collected expression in his face, as if he knew what he was doing, and was no longer planning things on the fly. "We have three missions. Firstly, the return of these adult beings," he gestured, "to their home so their smeets will be returned. Second, the return of you, Dib-stinkling, to your home so you can explain the situation and bring back your feminine parental unit. And I..." He paused, "I will find and collect GIR." His voice dropped lower. "I expect by then to have assessed the situation and how much damage my absence has caused my image. There is one other thing I must find out as well, so you may not see me for a while."
The corners of Tom's mouth twitched in amusement. "So, that's the plan, huh?"
"Have you a better one?" Zim challenged. Tom chuckled, shaking his head. "Good, then let's begin. Dib-monkey, land the ship in an inconspicuous place for starters."
As Zim began barking orders and outlining his plan further, Della slipped to the back. She'd assumed he would stay the way he'd been, sweet and vulnerable, for a much longer time, if not permanently. Stealthily, a feeling of betrayal, irrational though it was, crept into the spot Zim had occupied minutes before.