Scarecrow345:Not to worry, it took a while for me to update, a lot longer than I would have liked.

I'm guessing that a lot of it is experience, a lot of the people I've spoken to didn't mind him that much, but I've stumbled on a few people who were really upset by the episode so it might be that they had something similar happen. I'm glad you liked the way I wrote him though, especially with how much thought I put into trying to pin him down. And yes, Zim's been getting a lot out of the space ship, here he basically used its on board computer to access space Kijiji, hee-hee (^.^)

And the detail I mentioned isn't so much an easter egg, it's more a bit of lore; I'm not sure how much depth I'll be able to go in the story itself or where, but basically it's the "client" comment. That Zim wanting to rule the world in this story originally started as him thinking that since his parents have gotten contracts solving problems for entire countries, if he was in charge of all the countries his parents would have to spend time with him...instead of just telling them he wanted to spend time with them like a reasonable person...He just can never let anything be simple.


I'm finally able to post this! \(^.^)/

This is much later than I originally planned it to be, between the chapter itself just being really long (especially for an adaption of a shorter episode), to having writers block for a few weeks, and the complete disaster of the past two weeks, I'd actually planned to do this a week ago but it just wasn't possible.

First y mother and I were helping a friend move house and everything imaginable went wrong, we actually had to switch movers part way through and there's the possibility of the first movers being taken to court and our friend could have had a bunch of his work equipment stolen if things hadn't gone wrong. Everything's mostly finished there, but in the middle of the day everything went wrong, we also got a text from my grandmother saying my grandfather was in the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. He made it through that alright, and was doing much better than the doctors were expecting him to, but he just suddenly died on sunday, the day before he was supposed to be released. We think all of it was caused by a birth defect that had caused him problems before.

I'm alright, but it's been difficult for my grandmother, so we've been staying with her since; I was able to update today since I had to use my computer to edit a video for work, which also let me have a little time to myself, which has been really welcome. My feelings about all of this are little...complicated, so most of this week my mom and I have been helping her get through everything and sorting through the administrative side of things for her.

On a brighter note, we have a lot of characters coming back for this one, this time we're covering "Walk for your lives", I hope it's worth the wait.


"Alright, that's it for today" Red announced as the week's meeting came to a close "But before we go, we've got an envelope from the head office"

"I think we all know what we're hoping this is" Purple grinned as his twin opened the envelope. Specifically he was referring to the possibility that the contents would be Zim's expulsion letter, something the two of them had been hoping to see in many envelopes before, only to find themselves disappointed. Or at least, slightly disappointed; usually there was something good mentioned inside, the one about getting a jeep was definitely hard to be upset about.

As the letter was opened their expressions shifted into a mixture of surprise, unease, confusion, and wondering who on earth thought what was being announced was a good idea.

"They're bringing back project day"

Zim's rising enthusiasm was directly inverse to everyone else's.

While many of them suspected at this point that Zim's expulsion from the group was a pipe dream, they still held the odd hope it would be. As it was, the crowd's reactions to the news were mixed, ranging anywhere from surprise to confusion, to trepidation, with a few being cautiously optimistic that the event wouldn't be a repeat of the ones that had caused it to be discontinued in the first place.

One lone exception to this was Zim himself, who could barely contain his excitement, after all, any opportunity to show off his skills was more than welcome. True, the previous ones hadn't lived up to his expectations, but he had no doubt this year would be different. This year he would bring in a project so amazing, all future projects would pale in comparison.

The only one who's joy at the announcement could possibly compare with Zim's was Tenn; this project would keep her busy for a while, which meant until the event she would be exempt from helping out at her family's daycare. As charming as the dozen or so toddlers could be on a good day, she didn't particularly relish the thought of having to wrangle them at this time of year, where everyone came with a set of snow gear that took 5 minutes each to put on and nobody ever thought to use the washroom before getting dressed.

One thing was common to all of their reactions, however, as the children filed out of the building, all of them were talking about the upcoming project day.


While the meetings were occasionally moved to another day of the week, Zim's cadets group had become as much a part of Dib's weekly schedule, despite the Vortian having never set foot in the group's building.

Typically this meant a day where he and Zim would part ways early, sometimes Dib would be tasked with picking Gir up from preschool, but often the child would go over to play with one of his friends after and be picked up or dropped off later, as he had been before gaining his alien babysitters. Sometimes Dib would have an evening to himself, sometimes the children would visit after, and sometimes Zim would show up on his door step at a time a child his age had no business being awake, due to an all consuming need to debrief.

Thus it came as no surprise to Dib when the familiarly loud and impatient knocking sounded against the door.

What was slightly less expected was being greeted by Zim grinning broadly and excitedly screaming "They're bringing back project day! I need your tools!" Before dragging him out the door, evidently missing the paradox of asking for his tools while moving him further away from them.

"What is project day?" Dib asked as he freed his arm. Now that he was outside the house, he noticed Skoodge smiling apologetically beside him and was quietly glad he made a habit of making sure his disguise was on before answering the door.

"It's the greatest event in my cadets group's calendar where everyone showcases a science project they've built and gets to marvel at my superior project" Zim explained, now that he no longer had Dib's hand, he'd slipped behind him and started pushing him towards the house and through the door.

Despite having known Zim for several months now, Dib had not spent very much time at his house, as the boy typically preferred to go to Dib's place. He hadn't really thought much of it until that point, though if it bothered him at all, at least he could take solace in the fact that Skoodge, who had known Zim for years, didn't seem to have visited very often either as evidenced by the way he was looking around the entry way as if he'd stepped down the rabbit hole.

It was confirmed Skoodge hadn't when he shrieked in terror as curiosity got the better of him and he opened the second hall closet, releasing the roboparents, which shambled out of the cupboard. "Hellooo Thereeee, Kiiiiids" They greeted, as they waved jerkily and loomed unsettlingly over the three of them, the robomom flopped backwards, while the robodad's head tilted to the side and sparks flew from his neck. They simultaneously looked decidedly inhuman, while somehow seemed as if they had just moved from uncanny valley.

"Computer! Deactivate!" Zim yelled. A moment later the roboparents went completely limp and Zim hurriedly stuffed them back into the cupboard, scowling as he threw his full body weight at the door to slam it shut. "Never touch this door ever again" he hissed warningly.

"This wouldn't happen if you just put a lock on the door" a tired voice sighed overhead.

"I don't remember asking your opinion" Zim retorted towards the ceiling.

"It was just a suggestion" the voice replied, sounding as if it had this discussion countless times before.

Dib and Skoodge waved awkwardly up at the ceiling "Hello… Computer?"

"Oh, it's you two"

"You know who we are?" Skoodge asked.

"I know you've been making my job easier" the Computer refrained from mentioning that the specific part of the job he was referring to was making sure Zim & Gir survived to adulthood, and how discouraging it was that the preschooler was the one that required less supervision to ensure that happened.

Skoodge, being the only one with no experience with talking houses looked up with uncertainty "So do we take our shoes off, or…"

"Yes, I don't want any outside filth being tracked into my fortress of solitude" Zim replied as he pulled on his indoor boots.

Skoodge still looked unsure as he watched his friends enter.

"It's fine, my senses are limited to sight and hearing" the house assured, at this, Skoodge's eyes darted towards the end of the hall. "The bathroom is off by default, unless there's an emergency" the computer added, and Skoodge breathed a sigh of relief before running to catch up to the others.

"So, do you have any ideas for what we could make?" He asked as he followed Zim's lead to the work room

"So many!" Zim said dramatically as he opened a drawer in the nearby filing cabinet. Dib and Skoodge both watched, unsure if they should be surprised or not that Zim had an entire drawer full of plans on standby, as the boy picked through them before pulling one out and holding it triumphantly before declaring "This one!"

Zim grinned in excitement as he spread the papers on the table, Dib and Skoodge drew closer to look and their expressions faltered as they saw what he had chosen: time stasis field generator.

"Uh, Zim? Are you sure you want to do this project?" Skoodge asked "It looks a little…. extravagant, for something like this"

"Of course it's extravagant! Project day is all about showing off your skills and greater skills means a greater project" Zim explained, posing by the table as if he were in the first act of a children's adventure novel. "Besides, this will put all the other projects to shame, they'll talk about this for years to come! And finally shut up about the hamster incident"

Dib was about to ask about the incident in question when he spotted Skoodge shaking his head furiously not to ask before mouthing the words 'I'll tell you later'

With the project decided upon, the next task was to assign the workload. Naturally, Zim had appointed himself as the leader of the project, both due to his personality, and him being the one who designed it. Being the one with more patience for this sort of thing, or at least, the one who didn't consider being asked to show his work as a personal insult, Skoodge was tasked with writing up the methodology report along with helping to build the device itself.

Dib was a bit more difficult to place since he had the skills needed for such a complex project, but as a non-member of the cadets group he technically wasn't supposed to work on it, yet at the same time the rules didn't stipulate that outsiders couldn't contribute, to allow the children to get help from their parents if needed. Not that it mattered since Zim had no qualms about breaking rules anyway, especially ones that he knew were clearly impossible to enforce.

For the next hour or so the group began work on the project, which at this stage was mostly Zim & Dib cutting out the pieces they'd need while Skoodge hurriedly took notes of both the process and Zim's monologue about what each piece was for, and how the finished product would work. Soon it was late enough that Skoodge had to go home and Dib offered to keep him company while he waited to be picked up.


"Thank you for staying out here with me" Skoodge smiled "I know his parents are a touchy subject, so I try not to ask him to be here when mine-" his smile turned slightly awkward "I mean, I've tried inviting him to come do stuff with my family before, but, well…he is Zim"

"He certainly is that" Dib chuckled before silence settled over the two of them as they waited. After a few minutes, however, a question began to nag at the back of his mind.

"So what exactly happened during 'the hamster incident'?"

"Well, that depends on who you ask" Skoodge said as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt "It started a few years ago during our first year in the group, back then Ms Hoshikawa was in charge of our branch, she was the one that arranged for the neighbouring branches to come together for the event, but…" Skoodge paused for a minute, trying to think of what to say "You know how…zealous Zim can be when he gets excited about something"

Dib nodded that, yes, he knew all too well.

"Well, he decided his project would be to harness the power of cuteness to, I'm guessing, create a monster nobody would be willing to fight. Maybe? Anyway it was his turn to look after Chubby, the classroom hamster, and you can probably guess what happened" Skoodge's expression shifted into an awkward smile "I mean, officially the records just say that Ms Hoshikawa was last seen being chased out of the convention center by a giant hamster, but that didn't stop rumours spreading throughout the group that it ate her"

OK, he could understand why this was a bit of a touchy subject "But wait, he made it sound like there'd been multiple project days, they had another one after that?"

Skoodge nodded "After a couple of weeks Ms Hoshikawa didn't turn up, so they sent another person called Mr Spork, he…didn't last the full year; during the next project fair the giant hamster came back, except bigger, and the same thing happened again" Skoodge sighed before continuing "Zim insists that they're both fine because hamsters are herbivores so it couldn't possibly have eaten them, and I haven't had the heart to tell him hamsters sometimes eat insects too, so it's not completely impossible"

"And that's how Red & Purple ended up in charge?"

"Yes...After that they decided they weren't sending any more people over and sent a memo to just appoint whoever looked oldest" Skoodge explained "Part of me wonders if the reason the twins and Zim are in a weird holding pattern where they don't want him around, but won't kick him out themselves, is because they're just afraid that if they make him mad, the hamster will come after them"

Dib winced "Alright, I can understand why they stopped holding the event, but why would they start it again?"

"I'm not really sure" Skoodge said "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's because hamsters only live a few years and, assuming its lifespan stayed the same, there's a good chance it would have died by now"

No sooner had he said that then a car pulled up in front of the house "Oh, my parents are here. Bye Dib, I'll see you tomorrow"

For the rest of the preparation period, the three of them followed a similar pattern each day as after school they would go to Zim's house to work on the time stasis field, occasionally throwing together something to test how well it worked. Skoodge was able to stay for a few hours before he'd have to go home and would take notes as he worked, which he would then transpose into his typed report.

Zim was rather put out that this meant either putting a cap on how much he could work on the project while everyone else was away, or having to explain everything he wanted to do that night, before Skoodge left. But he was eventually convinced to settle for a couple of longer sessions on the weekends and having the house recording Zim's solo work sessions, since having him call came with the possibility of dragging everyone else into his irregular sleep schedule. Evidently he'd taken after his parents in that regard.

Dib usually stayed a bit later, partially to help with problem solving by sharing other planets' solutions, something he couldn't really do with Skoodge around, and partially to make sure Zim didn't hurt himself or stay up all night. As it was, he didn't get everything he'd hoped to out of one of the weekend sessions, due to falling asleep after dinner from pushing himself too hard the rest of the week and needing to be carried over to the sofa to sleep.

Throughout the town and those neighbouring it, other children both alone and in teams put in varying amounts of work and enthusiasm into their projects. From Tenn enjoying the long research sessions at the library and working at a friend's house, to one child who just got a few bags of potting soil in jars.


Finally, the day had come.

Both children had gotten up bright and early to have enough time to set up and were already loading their portions of the project into their respective vehicles. Specifically, Skoodge was riding with his parents and a printed copy of the methodology report, while Zim was going with Dib and transporting the device itself; with the sheer size of the latter, nobody questioned the need for two separate 'cars'. Just as the last part had been loaded into Dib's ship, Gir came rushing over.

"Wait!" Gir called, fortunately after the machinery had been set down "I made a project too! Can you take it with you!?" Before either could answer, the child held it out far too close to Zim's face for him to see it properly. Pushing it slightly further away revealed a bizarre object consisting of a banana with two googly eyes glued to it and glancing in opposite directions with a smile and sticking out tongue drawn in marker.

"It's Mr Nannerface!" Gir explained proudly "He's from Nannerland!"

Zim looked at it with an expression of utter disgust that completely flew over Gir's head; evidently they had both inherited the same DNA in that regard.

"I don't really want to touch that, Gir"

"Okie dokie" Gir chirped before taking a plastic baggie out of his pocket, slipping Mr Nannerface inside, before sealing it up and handing it to Zim.

"That's better!…I think" Zim replied with a tone of uncertainty; on the one hand he no longer had to touch it, on the other 'Mr Nannerface' now looked like some sort of biohazard. He decided to drop the issue as he and Dib got into the ship and left for the convention center, while Gir waved from his place by Gaz's side.


For all the fanfare built up around it, when all was said and done, project day was basically a glorified science fair, with all the typical science fair projects. There were enough baking soda volcanoes to form a small archipelago, with a couple of mentos and cola ones thrown in for variety, the odd potted plant that hadn't had enough time or sunlight to grow to maturity and several solar system models.

Each group had a handful of more ambitious projects that stood out from the sea of potato batteries and marble mazes, Zim could spot a few of them from his own table. Tenn had chosen a more involved project, partially to ensure nobody would try and pull her away from it, separating the sugar out from several varieties of raisin cereal to determine which had the higher sugar content. Larb had chosen a comparatively impressive project as well, one about airborne toxins, illustrated by using a spray bottle of coloured water and a clear plastic box to show how they traveled through the air.

Zim gave them both a look of smug pity and shook his head; either of them may have actually stood a chance at winning if he weren't participating, but as it was, their displays were a waste of effort.

His train of thought was cut off as the judges entered and stepped onto the podium, Zim didn't recognise the adult speaking, but the following speech explained that the judging committee consisted of the leaders of all the groups participating. Not that he needed to be told this, he recognised Red and Purple standing on the platform, looking put out that they weren't the ones making the announcement.

The speaker then explained that all of them would visit each table and watch the presentation before giving a score, and the presentation with the highest score would win. Each group would give a single score per project, meaning the twins collectively had one vote they would have to reach a consensus on, to keep the system fair. It didn't matter, Zim had no doubt his project would amaze all of them.

At a far end of the hall he could see them leave the podium and visit the first booth. It would be a while before they reached him, but no matter, it gave him time to go over his presentation a few more times before they arrived.


Normally the leaders for a branch of after-school cadets were selected from a pool of junior officers, chosen for both their proximity to the area they were assigned, and their ability to connect with the clients. Thus, much of the judging panel had gotten their jobs for being good with children.

Even so, in the brief time they'd spent with the two youngest members of the panel, they could feel their limits would be tested today.

A few of the older members remembered a pair of snotty semi-identical twins from Ms Hoshikawa's group, and how they would chase each other around shooting foam darts at each other making machine gun noises, and noted that the past few years hadn't changed much. Still, despite them currently making a pair of boxing hand puppets bearing their likenesses fight each other, the adults remained cautiously optimistic as they approached the first booth where a boy had set up a geology project of some sort, with a small collection of rocks set up around him.

"Slacks, was it?" One of the judges asked.

"That's right" Slacks nodded "I've done a project about the rock cycle and how-"

"Are there puppets?" Purple interjected, everyone but his brother looked at him questioningly, unsure if they had heard correctly.

"Puppets?" Slacks asked, clearly thrown off by the question.

"Sure! Everyone loves puppets!" Purple explained, shaking his own for emphasis "Except for you apparently!"

"Uh, hold on" Slacks said, flustered as he looked for a way turn his rocks into some, not finding any he picked one up and donned a gruff, yet silly voice "Hello, I'm an igneous rock and I-"

"Bor-ing! It doesn't have a face!"

Now it was Red's turn to join in "You know what that means" he grinned, Purple smiled as well as he readied his own puppet

"You get a pummeling!" Both said in unison before descending upon Slacks and making their boxing puppets punch him.

"Why does it hurt this much!?" Slacks cried as the adults watched on dumbfounded. They realised on some level they should probably do something about this, but frankly the display was so bizarre that by the time they processed what was happening, the twins had already moved on to the next booth, watching the puppets the booth's owner already had prepared. As the other leaders watched the display, one thought came to mind: this was going to be a long day.


"This is going to be a great day!" Bob grinned "It's been ages since I got to spend an afternoon here! What do you think, Derek?"

"Honestly I'm a little surprised" Derek said "I had no idea you liked karaoke so much"

"Oh yeah, I used to be in glee club and everything" Bob replied, taking a seat at his chosen table and gesturing for Derek to sit down "I did theater one year, too. I never did find out if they cast me as Mr Baggins because I was actually good, or because I was the right size, but it was fun"

Derek nodded as he took in the atmosphere of the place: the entire cafe was decorated in shades that were simultaneously light and warm, with sky blue walls and wooden furniture the colour of a sandy beach. Lights hung from the ceiling with shades that kept the space well lit, but not overly bright, and both the decor & crisp, white dishware had round, inviting shapes. Listening closely he could hear smooth jazz music playing before karaoke night began; on the whole, it wasn't at all the sort of place he would have expected somebody as high-energy as Bob to enjoy.

"They have all kinds of stuff here: sandwiches, pastries, mixed drinks if you come back here off duty" Bob said as he showed Derek the menu "The coffee's really good too, they have stencils in the back and dust cocoa powder pictures onto the foam. I'll probably start with a cappuccino"

"You know, you don't have to hold back for my sake" Derek said "I'm used to people drinking without me"

"Well… maybe I'll have a little brandy mixed in my coffee"


"How did he even get this thing? I haven't bought any bananas in weeks" Zim wondered aloud, it had been well over an hour since the judging began, but since his project was firmly in the middle of it all, his table hadn't been reached yet. At this point both going over his presentation again, and looking at the neighbouring booths had lost their appeal, thus he had taken to pondering Gir's project. "I suppose I could eat the banana, but it's horrible….Do you want it Skoodge?"

"You just said it was horrible" Skoodge replied, briefly looking up from rereading his methodology report.

"Yes, but people eat horrible things all the time, just look at all the fast food chains out there" Zim replied much more casually than you would expect for what he was saying, before suddenly straightening his posture "They're almost here! Skoodge, get ready!"

As if on cue, the group of judges rounded the corner. Zim's rush to be ready straight away was a bit premature, however, as there were still a few tables before his'. The anticipation in the air was palpable as the judges drew closer, visiting Tenn and Larb's booths, as well as those of some children from the other groups who Zim didn't recognise. He could barely contain his excitement as they finally stopped at the second to last one before his: Skutch's booth.

Among the handful of children who had chosen to make a potato battery, Skutch had created an unfortunate combination of that with the classic 'Do batteries work better in hot or cold temperatures?' experiment, resulting in the rather sad sight of an unlit light bulb plugged into a baked potato.

"So what do we have here?" One of the judges asked.

"It's a baked potato battery" Skutch looked like he wanted to disappear.

"I see, and what was the thought process behind your baked potato battery?"

"Oh no, I ruined the only potato I have and don't have time to get another one" Skutch sighed "Could you please move on to another one?" He cried, reaching under the table and pulling up a stress toy.

"Hey, that's a pretty good puppet" Red said "I'd say good for about 65%, what do you think Purple?"

"Yeah! Your project stinks, but the puppet saves it"

"Thank you!" Skutch squeaked, barely holding back tears.

"Well, there you have it, congratulations Skutch" Red said distractedly as he and the other judges moved on to the next table, his expression fell when he saw who was there.

"Greetings!" Zim said a bit too loudly, standing atop a step stool meant to make him look taller, but brought him too high up for the illusion to work.

"Oh great, it's Zim"

"Yes, yes I am" Zim grinned in that way that never failed to make Red feel exhausted just by looking at him "But we can talk about that after I've shown you my project" he gestured towards the machine with as much of his body as he could without falling off the step to emphasis this "Are you not amazed?"

As much as the twins loathed to admit it, it did look impressive, even if they had no clue what it was supposed to be. The fact that it was made of metal, and welded together alone elevated it far above the other projects in terms of presentation, even with the attention grabbing shades of pink and purple it had been painted in. The adults were even more in awe without having their personal feelings about Zim impact their assessment.

"What is it?"

"I'm glad you asked" Zim replied "This is a time stasis field generator" he switched the machine on as he said this and the open space in the machine was filled with crackling bright green energy. His grin grew even wider at the impressed reactions of the adults and the enthusiastic nods that met his suggestion of giving a demonstration. It took a moment between realising he hadn't brought anything to show it off with and him hopping off the step to snatch a marble maze from a nearby table, earning himself an exclamation of annoyance from its owner in the process, and slipping it into the field where it was suspended in the middle.

"This is used to control the field" Zim explained, picking up the remote and turning the dial to fast forward, as he did the marble sped through the maze. He turned it the other way and the marble slowed down, he turned it back and forth a few times, occasionally resetting the maze until the marble exited on the fastest setting and shattered on the floor.

Unphased by the setback and unwilling to let his presentation end, he picked up more items to test in the field, including ones that made no sense like the banana from Gir. Meanwhile, Skoodge was noticing that the machine seemed a little over loaded, or at the very least, was making some noises that were…. concerning.

"Uh, Zim, I think we should let them move on now"

"Nonsense! I haven't finished yet!"

"No, really. It's making this weird noise and-"

"I told you, it's fi- Ow!" He dropped the remote as it grew hot enough for him to feel through the gloves and finally noticed the increasingly loud keening the machine emitted. Perhaps it was the effect of the field, but time seemed to slow as the bright light of the field grew and everyone realised what was happening and ducked for cover.


"I live!" Zim yelled as he popped his head out of the pile of debris from the ruined tables "Skoodge! Let me know if you're alive too!"

"I…I don't think I'd be able to tell you if I wasn't" Skoodge replied, poking his head out of the mess.

"Good. Well, since neither of us are dead, let's fix the machine to show the-" Zim's eyes went wide with panic as he saw the judges had already left and moved on to the closest booth that had yet to be destroyed "No, wait! Get back here! I'm not finished yet!" He yelled frantically, earning him several deeply displeased looks from the surrounding children, with the possible exception of Skutch, who was just glad to have evidence of his potato-y shame destroyed.

"Zim, I think we are finished" Skoodge said softly, setting a hand on Zim's shoulder; he'd been holding onto his methodology report, so they still had that, and theoretically they might be able to rebuild the machine from the scattered pieces, but not within the amount of time they had before the event ended.

"No we're not!" Zim shouted as he pushed Skoodge's hand away "There's still a couple of hours left, we can fix this and have the judges come back at the end" Now that he had his solution, he quickly switched into analytical mode "They'll need to cross the room again to get back to the podium anyway, we just to get this stupid machine runni-" he kicked at a piece of debris, only to find his foot met with something that didn't feel like the surrounding metal.

"Ow! That's hot!" he yelped, jumping away from the offending object before curiosity got the better of him and he leaned in to inspect it. Whatever it was, it was fairly small, about the size of a tennis ball, glowing with a bright green light and radiating heat. If he didn't know better, he would have thought it was radioactive, but that was ridiculous; his parents had taught him better than to make experimental tech powered by something that unstable. Besides, radioactive cores were terribly gouache.

"It looks so familiar" Skoodge said, not quite able to place what he was looking at "Do you have any idea what it is, Zim?"

"It's in the way, that's what it is" Zim replied irritably as he tried repeatedly to pick the green object up, only to drop it immediately afterwards once it grew too hot to hold, before he eventually gave up and just scooped it up with the trash can and dragged it a few feet away. "There, problem solved, now let's get to work"


"Look, all I'm saying is I think it'd be a hit; people are interested in shows about dwarfism" Bob said, punctuating the sentence with a sip of his coffee.

"I know, but 'The little manny'?" Derek replied "It sounds kind of…not right"

"Man plus nanny: manny!" Bob explained "It's just a working title anyway, not that it makes any difference right now"

"I know" Derek nodded, taking a sip of his own drink the way one does when they've heard similar rants countless times before, but accept it as coming with the territory of being friends with a person.

"I'm sure their parents'd have no problem with it, but I can't ask them about it until the break starts, and those two brats won't even agree to sign their half of the television release forms until I do" Bob vented "After everything I've done all these years! Not a legal guardian, my foot! I've practically raised them!"

"Yeah, you'd think they would have turned out better" Derek tiredly chimed in.

"Go figure" Bob shrugged before perking up a moment later "Ooh! The song I requested is starting soon"


Skoodge had to admit, he was impressed. When Zim proposed they rebuild their project, he thought there was no way they would actually get it done in time, even if they showed it at the very end, but after half an hour or so of work, they were starting to make decent progress.

"I don't think this is savable, did we need this, Zim?" Skoodge asked, holding up a piece of charred, misshapen metal.

"Eh, that was just cosmetic, it can go" Zim replied with a wave of the hand. As Skoodge went to dispose of the piece, he noticed the green object was still in the trash can and significantly bigger than it was before.

"Zim, I think you should come see this!" Skoodge called "The green thing from before's gotten bigger"

"Just put the piece on top of it then" Zim replied, not taking his eyes off his project.

Skoodge complied, but something didn't look right as the piece of metal seemed to be pushed back up and warp slightly as it floated in place "Zim! I really think you should look at this!" He received a few muttered complaints as Zim trudged over to the trash can and was shown the anomaly. "See? I threw it on top, but look, it's like the metal's being pushed away and torn apart at the same time"

"You mean like it's exploding?" Zim asked a bit too casually for what he was saying.

"I guess so, I mean you have the most experience with explo- Zim, what are you doing?"

When Skoodge turned to face Zim, the smaller boy had already fetched a broom, which he started jabbing at the piece of metal, trying to shove it into the explosion. Soon the inevitable happened and the metal was knocked further away from the explosion, as soon as it was, it went flying and both boys instinctively ducked behind the trash can, despite being in the opposite direction of the piece's trajectory. As they slowly peered over the edge again, a faint cry of "My dirt!" could be heard in the distance.

"Mmm-hmm, that's an explosion alright" Zim stated with a nod "But why isn't it exploding more?"

"Maybe because it's from the time field exploding?" Skoodge offered "I mean, you had the machine set to slow motion when it overloaded, maybe that made the explosion slow motion as well"

"And I had the machine set to…" Zim searched back and forth for something to write with before spotting a marker and starting to write his calculations on the floor "Usually an explosion is over in a few seconds, with what I had it set to, it'll take a few hours to finish exploding. Given how much it's grown in the last half hour, by the end of project day..." Zim's eyes went wide as he finished his diagram and realised how big the thing was going to get.

"Oh no! Oh no! We have to get rid of it, or it'll destroy our project!... Again" more frantic searching ensued before he darted over to the trash can & threw himself against it, the can slowly rolled forward from the impact "Skoodge! Get over here and help me move this!"

"Oh! Sure." Skoodge replied with a nervous jump before joining his friend in pushing the can "So where exactly are we taking this?"

"To the far side of the convention center, that should be far enough away for it not to explode our project. If we hurry we can leave it there and still finish the repairs in time"

The two of them set to work pushing the trash can through the columns of tables, urging people to make way in their own distinct manners. However, the longer they pushed it, the larger the explosion grew and the more difficult it became to do so.

First the surface grew too hot for them to constantly lean against or keep their hands on, forcing them to adjust how they moved it. Then the top of the can began to warp as the explosion pushed the sides out until the metal started floating in place. They were halfway between where they started and the far end when the trash can finally gave out and the explosion rolled out, and onto the floor, bouncing a few times and destroying a handful of booths in the process.

However, Zim remained as stubborn as ever, a minute later he had already fetched a broom and began using it to beat the explosion away and towards the door while Skoodge used a spare to help as best he could without getting friendly fired by Zim's much more enthusiastic swings. They managed to get it about two thirds of the way before both brooms were burnt too far down the handle to use.


"Is everything alright, Zim? You've been staring at the explosion for a while now" Skoodge asked with a tone of concern, it wasn't quite concern in the typical sense; Zim showed no sign that he felt defeated over this ordeal, but Skoodge knew from experience that the longer he focused on something the harder it was to change gears.

"Of course it is" Zim huffed "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, it's getting late, we should hurry if you want to finish fixing our project in time" It was less a matter of Skoodge genuinely wanting to finish the project as trying to redirect Zim's attention before he had a really bad idea and refused to let it go.

"The explosion is our project now" Zim replied, his hands on his hips and a purposeful note in his voice.

"By that, do you mean metaphorically and that we're focusing on getting rid of the explosion, or literally and that we're going to present the explosion as our project?" Skoodge asked

"The second one of course! A slow explosion is still impressive, and we already have it ready!" Zim replied "If anyone asks, we wanted to make the explosion the whole time; my parents taught me the importance of making the unexpected look intentional, especially when something explodes. And it will explode"

Before he could say anything, Skoodge found his hand being grabbed and was dragged back across the room, giving warnings about the explosion that were promptly ignored as he went.


"So when you said 'and it will explode' you meant…"

"We'll bring the explosion up to normal speed: we'll present that, it'll be impressive, we will win. Everything is solved"

And there it was.

Skoodge knew that some people used the ends to justify the means, some got so wrapped up in the moment they'd lose sight of the original goal, while Zim would sometimes get stuck on a single plan and turn that into the new end goal.

"Uh, Zim? Won't speeding up the explosion just…speed up the explosion?" Skoodge sheepishly asked. Though he'd long since realised that trying to change Zim's mind was like nailing jello to a tree, and that the best course of action was usually to just let him do what he would and administer damage control from the sidelines, this just had major disaster written all over it.

"Of course it will! And once it explodes we'll finally be rid of it" Zim explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But…it'll explode…You don't have any problem with that?"

"No, no I don't"

Skoodge sighed, watching Zim dig through the wreckage a moment before asking "So the thing you're searching for is?"

"I need another piece of the time field to bring the explosion back to normal speed, there has to be something in here I can use" Zim explained before dragging Skoodge over to the pile "Don't just stand there! Help me look! We need something glowing the same green as the explosion, probably something that was in the field"

Several minutes dragged on as the two of them searched with Zim furiously digging through the pile, picking things up and tossing them in random directions as what little patience he possessed was exhausted, while Skoodge slowly picked through it, partially to try and delay Zim acting on his 'ingenious plan'.

Zim made a noise of irritation in his throat as he tossed another mangled piece of metal, too frustrated with his search to bother being upset about the damage to his machine; if he could just find another piece of the time field and throw it at the explosion it would fix everything, he was certain of it. Unfortunately it seemed everything that was near the device was simply damaged without absorbing any of the properties of the time field, and he'd just have to wait and see what the explosion did.

Then he spotted it

Sitting on the floor, glowing the same bright green as the explosion, and staring at him with that same unnerving blank expression as before was Mr. Nannerface. A closer inspection confirmed his suspicion as part of the peel had broken in the explosion, but the exposed fruit showed no signs of oxidation: the banana had another part of the time field.

Once he had it, it only took a few minutes for Zim to take some of the scrap material lying around and assemble it into something he could use to launch Mr. Nannerface at the explosion from a safe distance. Essentially, a giant slingshot, despite Zim's refusal to call it such.

Skoodge had spent the brief build time making a final effort to warn everyone, he may have gotten through to a few of the people from the other groups who were neutral towards himself and Zim, but for the most part it seemed to be an exercise in futility. Eventually he decided he'd done all he could and used a couple of upended tables to create a barricade in front of where Zim was currently standing as he aimed the banana. The moment he let go Skoodge pulled him down behind the makeshift shield, holding him in place with one hand and clutching the first aid kit, with the methodology report inside, close to his chest with the other.

Everyone gathered heard an echoing shout of "DUCK AND COVER!" Before their vision was filled with a bright green light


"Alright everyone" Lard Nar said as he addressed the gathered group of children, now sporting warmer clothing and having laminated their signs to weather-proof them. "'Today is cadet group project day' it's advertised as being educational, but they are doing nothing to encourage innovation" he emphasized his point by showing everyone a copy of the poster advertising the event before turning away for dramatic effect.

"This whole ordeal feels like a thinly veiled attempt to make militarisation palatable" he said as he adjusted his glasses before turning to face the group "But we're going to let people know. And do you know how we will?"

"By waving these signs around!" The other children replied enthusiastically.

"Precisely!" Lard Nar nodded "And why will we succeed in informing people?"

"Because we have a bigger set of multiples!" Shloontaplooxis cheered, gesturing to the set of triplets who bashfully smiled and waved at the sudden attention.

"Partially… but mostly because we have the power of critical thinking skills on our side!" Lard Nar replied in an effort to bring the rally back on track "And what will we do when we're finished here?"

"We go back to your house for celebratory cupcakes!" One member piped up.

"Too right!" Lard Nar nodded " Ready everyone? Let's wave these signs!"

Just as he readied to turn around, a gust of wind blew his hair into his face as an impressive sounding explosion went off behind him. He slowly glanced back and joined his friends in staring slack- jawed at the plume of smoke rising from the newly formed hole in the roof.

"Uh, Lard Nar? I think the thinly veiled attempt at making militarisation palatable just protested itself" Shloontaplooxis said.


"And then when he gets back, everyone thinks he's dead and they're holding an estate auction, so he gets the contract the wizard gave him and-" Bob's story was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing "Hold on, I have to take this. Hello?...Oh it's you two, how is the contest going, Red?"

"Not good" Red replied through gritted teeth "Part of the convention center blew up, no one's dead, but the fire department won't let us go back in"

"Have Derek come get us! It's cold out!" Purple whined.

"Uh-huh, alright, we'll be there soon" Bob replied before hanging up, as soon as he set the phone down, he picked up his coffee "After I get a little liquid protection" he added with a wry grin.

"You're not getting the cheque?" Derek asked

"Eh, it's not that cold out, and the last song I requested for karaoke night is about to start" Bob shrugged "They can freeze their butts off for another 5 minutes"


By the time Bob and Derek left the cafe, a now-familiar silver coloured car pulled into the parking lot, resulting in a few annoyed, and somewhat envious looks from the other members of Zims group. How was it that Zim, who's parents never showed up for anything, had managed to be the first to have somebody pick him up?

"Are you both alright?" Dib asked once he ushered both boys inside "I know Zim said you were both fine, but I wanted to make sure. And don't worry Skoodge, I already called your parents after I hung up, I was on my way anyway after hearing about the explosion, so they know you're coming back with me"

Skoodge didn't look as if he registered anything Dib had just said, instead glancing around the inside of the vehicle with an expression of awe on his face. At first Dib dismissed it as shell-shock until he came to the horrifying realisation of why Skoodge looked like he had never seen the inside of a car before: it wasn't a car.

The original plan was for Zim to travel to and from the convention center in Dib's ship, while Skoodge would travel with his parents, so no attempts to create an illusion of normalcy beyond cloaking the outside had been prepared, and in his panic to ensure the childrens' safety, he hadn't thought to add any. The result was Skoodge looking simultaneously impressed and stunned as he walked into what he thought was a car, only to be faced with a fully undisguised spaceship interior.

"Oh. Oh-no. This is…it's…well you see…"

"Don't worry I knew" Skoodge finally said "I figured it out on my own after the incident with that giant fake Zim happened"

"That was over three months ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

Skoodge shrugged "You weren't saying anything, I assumed you didn't want me to know yet and you'd just tell me when you were ready"

"That's…really thoughtful, thank you" Dib smiled as he started the ship up and the three of them journeyed home. The trip back was filled with questions and explanations as Dib told Skoodge of how he came to live on Earth and attend their school, as well as how his disguise worked, which was slightly derailed as Skoodge asked if he could pet his fur.

Soon they were home and while they waited for Skoodge's parents to arrive, he was regaled with stories of the escapades he'd missed, which he excitedly listened to, and as a bonus delayed Zim having to admit to Gir that Mr. Nannerface had been useful after all


During the following week's cadets meeting, the results of project day were announced to a rather sorry looking crowd. While Zim & Skoodge had walked away from the event relatively unscathed, most of their group mates now sported an impressive number of scrapes and bruises, several had bandages or minor burns, and a couple of particularly unlucky children required a cast. Needless to say that this week's session involving less physical activity than usual was deeply welcome.

"Hello…everyone I've been sent here to announce the results of project day" The representative that had been sent over was slightly taken aback by the group, but nonetheless attempted to remain positive "You may be interested to know that the winning entry was made by a member of this branch"

This news managed to infuse a small amount of energy into the exhausted looking audience, even starting a few speculative murmurs and signs of what might pass for enthusiasm. The representative paused for a moment to try and let it build into the closest thing to tension one could likely raise from this crowd before opening the envelope.

"And the winners are…" most of the children were actually looking up now "Zim & Skoodge! Let's give them a big hand!...Unless clapping hurts too much…" Evidently clapping hurt too much for everyone, alright then.

"Yes! Victory for Zim!"

Well, at least one of the two winners seemed happy, proudly smiling and waving as he marched up to the front and claimed his prize, blissfully unaware of the daggers everyone was glaring at the two of them, while his teammate shied away. Wow, what a bunch of sore losers to be this mad about it.

"Do I get to give my acceptance speech now?" The smaller boy, Zim, asked.

"There's no speeches, but congratulations on your win, now we all go home" the representative said, this news had a considerably warmer reception than anything else that had been said, which Zim interpreted as being a delayed reaction to his win, oh well whatever made him happy.

As everyone filed out of the building, Zim continued to ramble on about how it was inevitable that his project would win and his plans to show his award off to Dib, Gaz, and eventually his parents. All the while Skoodge smiled and listened patiently, technically his methodology report being the only thing to survive intact had been what ultimately won them the competition, but he was happy to keep it to himself and let his friend enjoy his victory.


There, we've finally covered both of Tallest Miyuki's counter parts. Her role from the original series didn't fit neatly into one character, so I had it split over two different ones, since Tallest Miyuki was named after Miyuki Hoshikawa, I used her surname for the other character. Oddly, Hamstergeddon was cut from the original episode list, while I initially didn't have any plans to adapt this one, so they ended up trading places. Mr Nannerface was a nod to Mr Weinerface from the comics, this version of Gir is a little more conscientious of Zim's sensitivity to meat, so he used fruit instead.

And Skoodge officially knows now; he's naïve, but I like to think he's perceptive enough to have figured it out himself (^.^) I really enjoyed getting to revisit Bob & Derek, as well as The Resisty again, they were a lot of fun to write for. I'm still hoping to update the way I originally planned, but we'll see how things go, I'm really looking forward to finally sharing the Christmas special, one good part about the issues with the move is I managed to finally work on it again.

As always, leave me a comment to let me know what you think (and give me a bit more motivation), and stay safe. I'll see you soon