Next chapter, folks! Things will start getting sourer from this point on, at least for some of our protagonists. I hope you enjoy!
Vindictive
Chapter 4- Towed
"Why did I get detention too? I was trying to break you up!"
Blue said nothing on the way back to Zim's base. He limited himself to hearing Masouri's rambling and complaints about the hyooman's punishment system. Blue had to admit he agreed with him about that, though. Sitting in a room with nothing to do for three hours isn't exactly punishment-like.
He snarled in deep relief as he saw the familiar shape of Zim's base up ahead. Fury was curled up on the lawn until he saw them approach; he greeted Blue by rubbing his head against his arm, purring softly. Blue patted him in the neck and wordlessly entered the house to let himself fall onto the couch, not noticing Bob was being squashed underneath until he heard his annoyed voice.
"Hey, move aside! Ocupado!" Blue didn't bother to reply. He had already dozed off. Bob mumbled under his breath and squirmed his way out from beneath the Kryvtor just as Foxtrot walked into the living room, a pint of grootbeer in one hand.
"Oh, you're back. How did detention go?" he asked.
"Mis Bitters had us sit in a chair for three hours straight. THREE HOURS!" Masouri shouted out of nowhere, his crest bristling as he shot Foxtrot a deep brown. "Of course, you'd know if you hadn't walked out on us when the coach dragged us to the principal's office!"
Foxtrot shrugged. "I would have gladly made you company, but someone had to update the base's security system and software since a certain AI is hopelessly awful at its job."
"I heard that, overgrown iguana!"
"Why don't you go bother Skoodge or something?"
Masouri didn't bother to argue. He was not really in the mood to deal with Foxtrot's rather immature arguments with the AI right now. With most of the sofa occupied by Blue and the remaining free edge taken by Bob, he went to the kitchen and sat in the nearest chair, dropping his head onto the table. Echo seemed to be testing out a portable gaming device while Ilk was helping GIR make waffles.
"Are you okay, Masouri?" Ilk inquired when she saw the exhausted kryvtor close to falling asleep. Masouri's only response was a guttural groan.
"Guess who made bacon!" GIR placed a pile of bacon straps on top of the table. He grabbed a handful and shoved it into his mouth with a goofy grin on his face.
Echo didn't distract herself from the console as he continued to gobble in the bacon. Foxtrot joined in shortly after when he felt the smell of (somewhat) fresh meat, but rather than going to the table he headed to the fridge and opened a pack of sausages.
About an hour later, Masouri was awoken by a piece of bacon landing on his head.
"Hey, Masouri-lizard." He heard Zim say. Masouri shot him a groggy frown.
"Just Masouri is fine, you know!" he snapped.
"Whatever. Is your ship big and green with yellow eyes on the sides?"
"Yeah, why?"
Zim casually pointed towards the door with his thumb. "I think it was just dragged away by a traffic control drone of sorts."
"Whatever." Masouri's head dropped back to the table, trying to go back to sleep. The information didn't fully sink in until ten seconds later, after which Masouri instantly jumped off the table, unintentionally overturning it and knocking everyone around it down. "WHAT?!"
He didn't even wait for an answer as he ran out of the house. The rest of the group barely had time to go after him; in Echo's case, to pummel him for making her lose at the game. They followed him all the way to a park a few squares away, finding him in front of a large, empty spot where the Ibris once stood. Masouri had already lost it; he was running around, hands gripping his head as he shrieked and hissed curses in Sobrekt. Echo rolled her eyes and placed her foot on his path, making him trip and fall flat-snout to the floor.
"Ow!" Masouri rubbed his nose, groaning painfully, then wordlessly put his slightly-twisted snout back into place with a loud crunch. He frowned at Echo. "Was that necessary?!"
"Not really, but you made me lose at the game and now I owe Gaz twenty units of hyooman currency." Echo hissed.
"Long story." Ilk whispered hurriedly.
"Where is the Ibris?" Foxtrot inquired.
"I don't know, and that's the problem!" Masouri snapped.
"Are you sure you parked it here?"
"I think I'd remember where I parked my own ship, thank you very much!"
Ilk saw Fury toying with a small slip of paper. "What do you have there, boy?" she picked it up as a gentle breeze blew it her way. Her brow furrowed. "Um... Masouri, I got bad news." Ilk showed him the paper. "According to this, the Ibris was on a no-parking site."
"What?!" Masouri snatched the paper, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't read hyooman writing. "That can't be! I didn't see any signs!"
"Then you should wipe your goggles. Look." Foxtrot pointed to a small sign on the sidewalk. It depicted a 'P' symbol crossed out in a diagonal red line.
"How was I supposed to know it meant 'no parking'?!"
"Anyhow, is there a way to get it back?" Echo asked.
"We could ask Gaz or the Dib," Blue suggested.
"How about Zim? I mean, he's been living here for years, he might know."
They were so withdrawn in the argument that they didn't notice Fury wandering off to explore the park. The indokuro sniffed the air curiously; there were many new smells all around. He spotted a few critters, but they turned out to be faster, smarter, and more agile than the fat lizards he was used to hunting back on Sobr. Not only that, but they seemed to have sharper senses too; most of them saw him coming and disappeared into a tree hole or underground den before he could sneak upon them. Soon Fury identified two types of animals: furry and feathery. Furry animals were land-bound and covered head to toe in fur. Feathery animals, on the other hand, have vibrant colors, but more importantly, they could fly. Fury didn't like eating feathery animals because the feathers got stuck on his teeth, so he focused his attention on the land-bound creatures.
After a while, he wandered out of the woods into an area filled with the two-legged things, 'hyoomans' as master called them. Some of them were walking other types of furry creatures on a leash, kinda like master used to do with him when he was younger. These creatures were of a variety of sizes and colors, and yet they had all the same basic scent. Fury took a few tentative steps forward. The nearest creatures barked loudly at him, and one even approached to take a sniff at him. Fury stepped back, bristling his spines as a warning. The tiny beast seemed to get the hint and moved away.
As he continued exploring, Fury was drawn towards another area by lots of pleasant food smells; some hyoomans were seated on tables and others were cooking something on a grill. Fury recognized the scent of both raw and cooked meat; as he approached the nearest grill, he found a tray with round pieces of the former.
"A TIGER!"
"SOMEBODY CALL ANIMAL CONTROL!"
Fury jumped as the hyoomans suddenly screamed and ran away from the place, some even knocking down the tables and their contents onto the ground in their hurry to escape. It took him a while to realize that they were running away from him. The indokuro shrugged it off and started eating the raw meat. Oh, well, it's their loss.
It took them a while to find the Membrane household. It wasn't because they couldn't get the address... mostly. When they called Zim to ask him where Gaz lived, GIR answered instead and mentioned that his master was busy and wasn't taking any calls. He wouldn't transfer the call until Masouri did a silly dance, and then GIR had him do it with Foxtrot. When they finally got to talk to Zim, he pointed them to Gaz's house... which happened to be the one in front of them.
"Is this Membrane person famous or something? I think I've seen him on lots of signs." Blue said casually, pointing at a bus with the words 'Membrane' and a photo of said man.
"According to Gaz, he's Earth's most renowned scientist. He's always making new inventions to aid hyoomankind. Honestly, I think he might be able to hold a candle to the engineers working aboard the Massive." Ilk commented.
"Wow. If he can make an Irken think like that, he must really be exceptional." Foxtrot murmured.
"One would think that he would have invented interstellar ships by now, but he doesn't believe it's possible for hyoomans to go beyond their solar system, plus he doesn't think there's life on other planets. That's good for us, though. Membrane would certainly vivisect us 'in the name of science' if he busted us." Ilk felt a shiver down her spine. She noticed they were missing one party member. "Hey, Blue, where's Fury?"
"He went exploring on his own. Don't worry, he'll go back to the base once he gets bored." Blue assured her.
Foxtrot chuckled. "Then again, maybe it's a good thing he's not here. The Dib might try to snap photos or take DNA samples if he's home."
Blue cracked his knuckles. "I'd like to see him try."
Ilk tentatively rang the bell. A pre-recorded message from Professor Membrane spoke up. "Greetings, visitors! Welcome to the Membrane household! I'm currently not at home, as I'm busy making new inventions in the name of science! If you wish to make an appointment with me for a potential job at Membrane labs, press the button with the M. If you're interested in making an investment..."
"Ancestors' sake, why can't this guy use a normal doorbell like everyone else?" Masouri muttered.
"If you're here to see Dib or Gaz, press the red button!" Foxtrot rolled his eyes and impatiently pressed the button. "If you're from the Crazy House for Boys..."
"Oh, for goodness sake! I don't have time for this!" Masouri pounded on the door and tried to force it open. The front door lights turned on a bright red line as the intercome replayed 'intruder alert' and a dozen of weapons or so emerged from the walls, aiming at the group.
"Nice job, jughead," Foxtrot murmured.
Thankfully for them, the door opened at that moment. Gaz didn't look very happy as she placed her hand on a wall scanner. The weapons retreated and the alarm deactivated.
"Just knock on the door the next time," she said simply as she went back inside. She left the door open, so she must be inviting them in.
Like Ilk suspected, Gaz was immersed in the TV, gaze fully focused on the giant screen while her fingers flew and pressed the button on the controller. The game she was playing seemed to be of the martial arts tournament type combined with guns and pig zombies. Ilk would never understand why Gaz was so obsessed with pigs.
"Gaz, something terrible has-!" Gaz interrupted Ilk with a finger, somehow still playing with one hand. She didn't dignify them with her attention until she completed the level.
"What?" She asked, uninterested.
"The Ibris is gone and we found this instead!" Masouri held out the pink paper.
Gaz eyed it. "Let me guess, you parked it on a no-parking spot."
"How did you-?!"
"It's written all over your face." Foxtrot snickered at Gaz's remark as Masouri tapped his claw impatiently.
"So you do know where they could have taken our ship?" Echo asked.
"That piece of paper is a traffic ticket. You must go pay the amount of money it indicates to the DMV so they'll return your ship."
"Pay? As in, with hyooman currency?"
"How much are we talking about?" Blue asked warily.
Gaz read the ticket. "A hundred dollars."
Masouri went still. He momentarily lost his balance, finding it hard to breathe out of sudden; the kryvtor stumbled back, clutching his chest as if his heart would burst out at any moment.
"H-Hundred...! A-A Hundred...!" He stuttered as Blue grabbed him by the shoulders and gently pushed him down onto the couch. Echo fanned him with a nearby book while Ilk handed him over a paper bag as he began to hyperventilate.
"He's going to faint," Foxtrot sing-sang amusingly. Echo shot him a frown.
Gaz focused on her game once more. "What a baby."
"Gaz, have you seen my-?" Dib stopped mid-way down the stairs as he noticed the group of kryvtors inside the house. "Holy Saturn, what are those lizards doing here?!"
"Nice to see you too, Dib," Blue said sarcastically.
"Gaz, why did you let them in?!"
"I was hoping they'd behead you and hang that big head of yours in a wall or something."
"Hey!"
Foxtrot rubbed his chin. "Now that you mention it, his head would make a good trophy." Dib shivered. They couldn't be serious, right?
"My head's not big!"
"Face it, Dib-thing, your head is enormous." Echo chuckled.
Ilk decided to say something before things got nasty. "Dib, we're in a situation and we need a hand," she explained, following the hyooman to the kitchen as he made himself a sandwich. "The DMV took the Ibris because Masouri parked in a no-parking area." She flinched as Masouri yelled to stop rubbing it in his face from the living room.
"Wow, he certainly has a good hearing for someone with no ears," Dib murmured. "And what does that have to do with me?"
"See, we need one hundred dollars to pay the traffic ticket."
"Really? Do I look like a bank?"
"Come on, Dib-thing! Surely your reasonably wealthy father gives you an allowance, right?" Blue inquired.
"I don't have a hundred dollars! I only get ten dollars a week!"
"You'd have more if you didn't waste your money on paranormal junk." Gaz scoffed.
Dib frowned. "And why don't you ask 'the wonderful Zim' for help?" he asked, arms crossed.
"He's busy with his mission," Blue replied.
"Wait, do you know what his next plan is?" It was Blue's turn to frown.
"Even if I did, you're the last person I'd tell, Dib-thing."
Gaz rolled her eyes; pausing her game, she looked back at her brother slyly. "Dib, these aren't common aliens asking you for help. They're Sobrekt. You scratch their back, they scratch yours. They'll owe you a favor if you help them, and trust me when I tell you that you want a Sobrekt to owe you one."
Dib pondered on it as he took a long, thoughtful slurp from his drink. Gaz had a point. If he helped them, they'd be indebted to him, and if his research on Tak's ship is correct, Sobrekt always keep their promises. After what he's seen them cable of back on Hoth, it'd be nice to have the raptor aliens on his side, for a change.
"Does your species know what a part-time job is?"
Foxtrot lost interest in the conversation and went to sit next to Gaz. As his companions learned about what hyoomans deemed as 'part-time jobs' like walking other people's pets or mowing their overgrown lawns, he watched Zim's girlfriend kick virtual asses on the TV without a drop of sweat. The game seemed simple enough; all you had to do was deplete your opponent's health bar to zero to win.
"What's this game called?" he inquired curiously.
"Mortal Kombat XXV," Gaz said curtly.
"Is it fun?"
"I wouldn't be playing it if it wasn't."
"You hyoomans have odd ways to waste your time, you know. In Sobr, we'd rather spend our free time honing our combat skills than sit in front of a tv screen all day." Gaz scoffed.
"You don't have any idea of what you've missed, then. Videogames are the only human invention that is actually cool." It was Foxtrot's turn to scoff. This time, Gaz did frown at him. "If you disagree, why don't we have a match?"
Foxtrot raised an eyebrow. "A match?"
"I bet ten dollars that you won't last a minute against me."
Foxtrot rubbed his chin, the tip of his tail twitching. After a brief consideration, he shrugged. "Why not?"
"Um, Foxtrot, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Hitorken Zim said that Gaz-demons is like a 'goddess of gaming devices', or something like that. I'm pretty sure that it means she's unbeatable in videogames."
"Tell that to me," Echo muttered under her breath.
Their words went on deaf ears as Foxtrot grabbed the controller, thus accepting the challenge. In the character selection, Gaz picked the Warrior Wathog Pig, her favorite, but Foxtrot took a bit longer to pick one as he examined their stats and attributes. Despite his companions' suggestions, he picked up a feeble-looking snake character called 'Sirpento'. The match began. Foxtrot spent the first few minutes pausing the game every ten seconds to ask Gaz how the controller worked and how she did the combos. Despite Gaz's quick and 'unhelpful' lessons, however, Foxtrot's character was K.O.'d 45 seconds after the match began.
"I didn't want to say I told you so, but I told you so," Dib said almost sympathetically.
"I win, you lose." Gaz was sneering at the purple kryvtor. "You never stood a chance."
"Well, perhaps if you had properly explained to me how to use the controller, the outcome might have been very different." Foxtrot retorted.
"Excuses, excuses."
"You don't believe me? Then how about a rematch?"
"Foxtrot, what are you doing?" Masouri hissed, only to be pushed away by his packmate.
"Rematch? You never learn, don't you? I have better things to do than kicking your virtual ass again."
"How about this, then? If I beat you in less than fifteen seconds, you'll give us half the money to pay the Ibris's ticket." Gaz snorted. Foxtrot narrowed his eyes, searched into his pocket, and pulled out an iPhone-like device. "If you beat me again, then you can have my Kryvphone, and believe me when I tell you that this is better than any hyooman game console that currently exists." Gaz raised an eyebrow. The Raptor squad murmured under their breaths, with Masouri saying 'that's it, we lost him in a very low voice while Dib eyed the Kryvphone with greedy eyes.
After a moment of thinking it over, Gaz shrugged. "Okay then."
Both grabbed the controllers again, picked the same characters and settings for the new match. Ilk noted something was... different about Foxtrot. She couldn't wrap her finger around it, but he seemed oddly... calm for someone who just bet a very valuable item against someone who'd beat him. Was he up to something?
The match began. However, Foxtrot never paused the game this time around. His gaze fully focused on the TV while his fingers flew over the buttons and joysticks, swiftly avoiding Gaz's attacks while throwing his own. Gaz was evidently caught off guard as she tried to retaliate, but by the time she fully realized what was going on her character was K.O.'d in a mere eight seconds.
The controller slipped off Gaz's hands. She started at the TV screen, eyes and jaw wide open. The big, gothic letters displayed the words winner: Player Two. Not one, two. Dib dropped his drink. The unthinkable had happened; someone had beaten her at Mortal Combat XXV. Foxtrot dropped the controller onto the couch and cracked his knuckles.
"My, my, looks like I won. Now you owe me fifty bucks."
Gaz slowly turned her head towards Foxtrot, eye-twitching as the kryvtor toyed with the controller without a care in the world.
"That's not fair, Foxtrot, you conned her!"
Foxtrot leaned back, tail twitching. "I did not. I merely pretended to suck so she'd get overconfident and lower her guard while I learned her tactics."
"That is a con, Foxtrot." Blue pointed out.
Masouri gulped. "Hum, Foxtrot? You might want to start running."
"Why?" Echo wordlessly motioned towards Gaz. There was a dark aura surrounding the hyooman and her eyes seemed to have gained an eerie red glow, making her look even scarier.
"I. will. end. you."
"You know, I just remembered I had something to do back at Zim's base, so chiao!" Foxtrot leaped off the couch and made a run for the door with Gaz in hot pursuit.
Dib stared at the screen, jaw hanging open. Sweet Jupiter, it's Gaz they're talking about! No one, absolutely no one, has ever beaten her in a video game. "I... Can't... believe it."
"Okay, Dib-hyooman, Foxtrot did beat your sister in the game, so..." Echo held out her hand expectantly.
"Why should I have to pay you when the bet was with Gaz?"
"Because Gaz-demon is not in her right mind right now, asking her for the money would be like signing a death sentence in blood." Groaning, Dib took the promised amount out of his wallet and placed it on Echo's hand. "Okay, let's make sure Foxtrot makes it through the day."
"He's a Kryvtor, Echo. A normal hyooman can't outrun, let alone catch up with a kryvtor at top speed."
"Gaz is not a normal hyooman, remember?" Ilk pointed out. After all, someone who could scare even Zimkro into submission couldn't be an ordinary person.
"Yeah, you might want to make sure your friend doesn't get killed. Gaz has never lost a match, and as you can see she's not taking it very well." Deep down, though, Dib did hope she'd kill the lizard so he could deliver an alien body to the Eyeballs.
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Once the rest of his companions left, Masouri leaned in closer to Dib, talking in whispers. "Do you know of any nice spots around here?"
"Define 'nice'."
"You know, someplace you'd take your girl for a pleasantly romantic experience."
Dib blinked, perplexed. He didn't mean... "You want to take someone out on a date?"
"Yeah, somewhere nice with lots of animals to hunt and all that."
"Wait, your idea of a date is going on a hunting expedition? That doesn't sound very romantic. Besides, why are you asking me of all people?" Masouri tapped his claws on the floor. Dib interpreted it as a sign that the kryvtor was nervous.
"Well, you have quite some experience in dealing with scary women on a daily basis, so I figured you knew how to handle one without getting mauled."
"Well, thank you," Dib said sarcastically. Come on, it's not like he's hopeless at getting a girlfriend, it's just that it's hard to find a girl that loves him for himself and not because he's the son of a world-renown scientist. "If you're talking about Gaz, it's different. She's my sister and I've known her my whole life."
"I've known my girl for my whole life too! Heck, we're on the same squad!" It didn't take Dib long to figure out who was the female Masouri was interested in. That green kryvtor, Echo, did look like she shouldn't be trifled with, especially after the dodgeball massacre, as everyone in highskool called it.
"Does she feel the same about you?"
"Um..." Masouri chuckled nervously. "She kinda doesn't know how I feel."
"Well, sorry to tell you this, but that means you're in the friend zone."
"Friend zone?"
"You know, when you like a friend in a romantic manner but they don't reciprocate and the both of you are stuck in a perpetual limbo, unable to go any further..." Dib trailed off as he noticed Masouri had gone stiff, eyes wide and pupils gone to slits. "Uh... Hello?"
Friendzone? Masouri had heard that word before, but he's never understood what it meant until now. What the hyooman is saying is that he'd never get past the friend status because Echo might not reciprocate his feelings. Masouri's stomach twisted at the thought. What if Echo didn't, in fact, feel the same as him? What if the revelation causes them to grow distant, perhaps even embittered? Masouri couldn't imagine a life where Echo gave him the cold shoulder.
Ouch! A smack in the back of his head snapped him back to reality. Speak of the devil, here she is, tapping her claw as she stared at him with a deep frown, hands on her hips.
"Are you going to stand here all day or are we going to retrieve the Ibris?"
"Ugh. Mammals are disgusting. Just look at that, holding hands with whoever they come across."
The blonde, thin woman hissed at her companion. "If you have nothing useful to say, then don't talk at all."
"And what' with those swollen balls of fat that females have on their chests? They look horrible!"
Kamora hissed, irritated at her partner's blabbering. She couldn't say she disagreed with him, though. From what they've seen of hyoomans so far, they're so stupid that they wouldn't give them a second look if they removed their disguises and danced with 'we're aliens' signs. Still, better safe than sorry. She had worked on their holo-disguises according to the information she could gather on hyooman anatomy; pink skin, furry head (and face when it came to males), perpetually swollen 'mammary glands' for females, and short height in comparison to even a Kryvtor.
"Think we'll get to meet Hitorken Zim?" her partner chirped excitedly. "I hope so! I've wanted to have a one-on-one fight with him ever since I hatched!"
"We're not here for that, Lask'ano." Kamora growled (rather regretfully, if she may add). "We have a job to do."
"Who was the client, again?"
"I don't know. The message only contained information about our target, instructions, and half of the payment. He'll send the other half when the job is completed."
"We don't have to kill anyone, right? I can't see blood, I get sick and puke with a little drop. Like that time you got a scratch on your arm..."
Sometimes Kamora wondered if Lask'ano was a Sobrekt at all.