AN: I own only the plot here, Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon own all recognizable characters, places, etcetera. I am merely a lowly table-head service drone who's saved up enough monies to buy herself a small clunky computer on which to type.
Chapter Three: Home
He had left G.I.R. back at the base, because he knew that the robot would only be in the way. This was a mission of the utmost importance, and he needed as few reminders of how he 'used' to be if he wanted it to be a success. The mad robot would only discredit him.
It had, however, been a lonely two weeks without someone to at least annoy him twenty-four seven. He shook his head. He'd been far too polluted by humans, he was starting to think with their disgusting expressions... This would have to change...
He could see the outline of Irk, and a large purple blotch that was most likely the Massive. The planet Irk itself was inhospitable. Too much pollution caused by the society's obsession over snackfoods had destroyed most everything. Irken society had moved onto their ships, the Massive being the largest station of Irken existance. He'd been raised with his creche upon the Massive, trained for Invasion upon the Massive... it was home.
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
"My Tallest!" Assistant Sporck cried out. "There's an old WSX Voot Cruiser approaching us."
"WSX?" His neighboring assistant cried. "Those things are ancient, how's it still flying? I thought we destoyed those ages ago."
"Apparently one survived." Sporck shrugged. "It's hailing us my Tallest."
"Who is it?" Red snapped, looking up from various battle plans.
"It doesn't say..." Sporck shrugged. "All it's giving is an old creche number..."
"It's one of our Voot Cruisers though, right?" Purple asked. Sporck nodded. "Patch it through."
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
He adjusted his uniform nervously. It was made out of a earth stretchy black material. His traditional Irken uniforms of bright red had worn out over time, and he'd been forced to create uniforms on his own. After much fumbling with horrendous human 'sewing machines' he'd finally created some suitable replacements. He hoped that his Tallest would treat this as a sign of disrespect.
The message on his screen said that the Massive had accepted his request to speak with them, and after pushing the button to activate his second holographic illusion, he hesitantly opened the channel.
The faces of his leaders stared at him blankly, and he was angry, for a moment, that they should forget him. For all that they'd done to humilate him, they could have at least remembered who he was.
"Invader Zim, reporting my Tallest." He said stiffly, adding a salute.
THAT got a reaction of them. They stared at him with horror, and Zim wondered how awful he truly must have been to warrant that sort of look.
"In-invader Zim..." Red gulped, before he gathered himself up from the shock. "What are you doing here, Zim?"
"I recieved an urgent message telling me to return to the home planet, with all the other Invaders. Someone apparently forgot to erase my name from the database." He said with detachment.
"Zim, I'm afraid we have no need of your... 'unique' services at this point in time..." Purple said diplomatically. He was always the diplomat, Zim thought to himself.
"But I think you do." Zim said, lowering an eyelid and gaining a determined look on his face.
"What could **you** do to help us?" Red sneered.
"I am the only one in the last ten years to have come across and defeat the Planetjackers." He said flatly. "It was really quite fortunate that you didn't list me and the planet Earth as part of your conquests."
The Tallest looked to each other nervously. This Zim was different than the crazed irken that they had known. He was cold, calm, and the mad intelligence that had always lurked behind his eyes was now disciplined. He was mildly frightening, dressed in his black uniform. There seemed to be an underlying threat in his appearance, although the Tallest knew that they had nothing to fear. That did not mean, however, that they did not recognize a danger when they spotted it.
"Please, Zim," Red said antagonizingly. "I know you wanted to be an Invader badly... but you've never stooped to lies before."
Something twitched on Zim's face, and Purple felt that perhaps it was not the best thing to mock Zim so casually. He elbowed Red and glared at him.
"I've got a video file that says I did." Zim said, and pressed a button.
"We're recieving the file, my Tallest." Sporck said.
"Play it." Purple said
Sure enough, it was a video taken from one of the cameras installed inside the Voot Cruiser, and although at first it looked like nothing more than Zim's usual antics, the planet Earth was soon free... without the Planetjackers even aware as to what had happened.
"Invader Zim," Red said sharply, taking command. "If you'll please report to the docking bay assigned --"
"My assistance does not come without a price." Zim said sharply, interrupting Red. "I am no longer an Invader, and apparently never was. I have been exiled by your orders. As I am no longer a citizen of Irk, you cannot order me to do anything."
The shock of such disrespect from one of their most loyal servants, silenced Red.
"What do you want Zim?" Purple asked, knowing if he left this to Red that it would only end up alienating Zim more than he already was, and they would recieve none of his assistance, which they desperately needed.
"For you to tell me what is wrong with me." Zim said darkly as he moved to push something on his pack. There was a flicker and a holographic image died revealing the true Zim.
His face was covered with sores, and Purple tried his best to hide a cringe at the sight of him. It suddenly explained so much ---
"Agreed. If you'll report to the docking bay assigned you, the medical staff will meet you there." Purple said, motioning to an assistant to call up the doctors.
"Yes, my Tallest. Zim out." Zim said curtly, before cutting the transmission.
Red, who had been silent for the most part, spoke.
"That disgusting little worm! Purple, why did you accept his assistance? We could have done just fine without him!" He shouted.
"We need all the help we can get. Zim's the only one with good experience with the 'jackers who hasn't **lost**."
"It figures he'd be one of ***them***." Red said with loathing after a moment.
"It's a wonder that we didn't spot it before."
"Hopefully he'll survive just long enough to be useful."
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
Dib's skull ached as Zim's insane robot went off on another rendition of what the metallic creature had titled 'The Doom Song'. Dib understood why Zim had left the robot behind now.
His father had been experimenting with space travel for quite some time now, and it was no problem to convince him to let him 'test' a ship. His father was rather oblivious, worse now in his old age, and had mistaken him for an assistant.
What he would do when he eventually arrived on Irk was unknown. He'd obviously stand out as an alien (it was strange to know that suddenly he was an alien...), and he'd come up with no real effective way to disguise himself. He'd think of something, however.
With a sigh he looked at the ETA clock, and found he had at least another week to go.
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
The doctors were muttering to themselves as they escorted him down to the medical bay. It was a place he had visited often as a smeet. He'd been highly accident prone in his youth, and the fierce competition fostered by the instructors in training had led to abuse amongst his creche, which he as the shortest, was often a victim of.
Their mumbled chatter, however, made him nervous. Something must be seriously wrong, from the looks on their faces.
"Do you suffer from fatigue, Invader?" one of them asked.
"Yes, and it's Zim." He said without bothering to glance at the speaker.
They continued to mutter, their voices reminding him of those dratted bees on Earth in their swarms.
"What's wrong with me?" He snapped as they entered the medical facilities. They looked at him blankly. "You obviously know something, so what's wrong with me?"
"Inva--" the technician stopped at his glare, and decided to start over. "Zim, I believe you studied, as a smeet, about the Rift?"
Zim nodded, remembering the lesson vaguely... Rifters were revolutionaries trying to overthrow Tallest Miyuki, and stop the invasion of planets. They protested the invasions as un-irkane and wished to devote resources instead to restoring Irk.
"You remember that they contaminated some of the smeets in the Invader Incubation chambers... resulting in hideous and demented Invaders..." the doctor looked hesitant. "We thought we had destroyed them all... they were too dangerous to live. But apparently..." the doctor looked at him nervously.
"One survived. Yes, I understand perfectly." Zim replied.
Chapter Three: Home
He had left G.I.R. back at the base, because he knew that the robot would only be in the way. This was a mission of the utmost importance, and he needed as few reminders of how he 'used' to be if he wanted it to be a success. The mad robot would only discredit him.
It had, however, been a lonely two weeks without someone to at least annoy him twenty-four seven. He shook his head. He'd been far too polluted by humans, he was starting to think with their disgusting expressions... This would have to change...
He could see the outline of Irk, and a large purple blotch that was most likely the Massive. The planet Irk itself was inhospitable. Too much pollution caused by the society's obsession over snackfoods had destroyed most everything. Irken society had moved onto their ships, the Massive being the largest station of Irken existance. He'd been raised with his creche upon the Massive, trained for Invasion upon the Massive... it was home.
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
"My Tallest!" Assistant Sporck cried out. "There's an old WSX Voot Cruiser approaching us."
"WSX?" His neighboring assistant cried. "Those things are ancient, how's it still flying? I thought we destoyed those ages ago."
"Apparently one survived." Sporck shrugged. "It's hailing us my Tallest."
"Who is it?" Red snapped, looking up from various battle plans.
"It doesn't say..." Sporck shrugged. "All it's giving is an old creche number..."
"It's one of our Voot Cruisers though, right?" Purple asked. Sporck nodded. "Patch it through."
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
He adjusted his uniform nervously. It was made out of a earth stretchy black material. His traditional Irken uniforms of bright red had worn out over time, and he'd been forced to create uniforms on his own. After much fumbling with horrendous human 'sewing machines' he'd finally created some suitable replacements. He hoped that his Tallest would treat this as a sign of disrespect.
The message on his screen said that the Massive had accepted his request to speak with them, and after pushing the button to activate his second holographic illusion, he hesitantly opened the channel.
The faces of his leaders stared at him blankly, and he was angry, for a moment, that they should forget him. For all that they'd done to humilate him, they could have at least remembered who he was.
"Invader Zim, reporting my Tallest." He said stiffly, adding a salute.
THAT got a reaction of them. They stared at him with horror, and Zim wondered how awful he truly must have been to warrant that sort of look.
"In-invader Zim..." Red gulped, before he gathered himself up from the shock. "What are you doing here, Zim?"
"I recieved an urgent message telling me to return to the home planet, with all the other Invaders. Someone apparently forgot to erase my name from the database." He said with detachment.
"Zim, I'm afraid we have no need of your... 'unique' services at this point in time..." Purple said diplomatically. He was always the diplomat, Zim thought to himself.
"But I think you do." Zim said, lowering an eyelid and gaining a determined look on his face.
"What could **you** do to help us?" Red sneered.
"I am the only one in the last ten years to have come across and defeat the Planetjackers." He said flatly. "It was really quite fortunate that you didn't list me and the planet Earth as part of your conquests."
The Tallest looked to each other nervously. This Zim was different than the crazed irken that they had known. He was cold, calm, and the mad intelligence that had always lurked behind his eyes was now disciplined. He was mildly frightening, dressed in his black uniform. There seemed to be an underlying threat in his appearance, although the Tallest knew that they had nothing to fear. That did not mean, however, that they did not recognize a danger when they spotted it.
"Please, Zim," Red said antagonizingly. "I know you wanted to be an Invader badly... but you've never stooped to lies before."
Something twitched on Zim's face, and Purple felt that perhaps it was not the best thing to mock Zim so casually. He elbowed Red and glared at him.
"I've got a video file that says I did." Zim said, and pressed a button.
"We're recieving the file, my Tallest." Sporck said.
"Play it." Purple said
Sure enough, it was a video taken from one of the cameras installed inside the Voot Cruiser, and although at first it looked like nothing more than Zim's usual antics, the planet Earth was soon free... without the Planetjackers even aware as to what had happened.
"Invader Zim," Red said sharply, taking command. "If you'll please report to the docking bay assigned --"
"My assistance does not come without a price." Zim said sharply, interrupting Red. "I am no longer an Invader, and apparently never was. I have been exiled by your orders. As I am no longer a citizen of Irk, you cannot order me to do anything."
The shock of such disrespect from one of their most loyal servants, silenced Red.
"What do you want Zim?" Purple asked, knowing if he left this to Red that it would only end up alienating Zim more than he already was, and they would recieve none of his assistance, which they desperately needed.
"For you to tell me what is wrong with me." Zim said darkly as he moved to push something on his pack. There was a flicker and a holographic image died revealing the true Zim.
His face was covered with sores, and Purple tried his best to hide a cringe at the sight of him. It suddenly explained so much ---
"Agreed. If you'll report to the docking bay assigned you, the medical staff will meet you there." Purple said, motioning to an assistant to call up the doctors.
"Yes, my Tallest. Zim out." Zim said curtly, before cutting the transmission.
Red, who had been silent for the most part, spoke.
"That disgusting little worm! Purple, why did you accept his assistance? We could have done just fine without him!" He shouted.
"We need all the help we can get. Zim's the only one with good experience with the 'jackers who hasn't **lost**."
"It figures he'd be one of ***them***." Red said with loathing after a moment.
"It's a wonder that we didn't spot it before."
"Hopefully he'll survive just long enough to be useful."
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
Dib's skull ached as Zim's insane robot went off on another rendition of what the metallic creature had titled 'The Doom Song'. Dib understood why Zim had left the robot behind now.
His father had been experimenting with space travel for quite some time now, and it was no problem to convince him to let him 'test' a ship. His father was rather oblivious, worse now in his old age, and had mistaken him for an assistant.
What he would do when he eventually arrived on Irk was unknown. He'd obviously stand out as an alien (it was strange to know that suddenly he was an alien...), and he'd come up with no real effective way to disguise himself. He'd think of something, however.
With a sigh he looked at the ETA clock, and found he had at least another week to go.
***(-I-)**(-I-)***
The doctors were muttering to themselves as they escorted him down to the medical bay. It was a place he had visited often as a smeet. He'd been highly accident prone in his youth, and the fierce competition fostered by the instructors in training had led to abuse amongst his creche, which he as the shortest, was often a victim of.
Their mumbled chatter, however, made him nervous. Something must be seriously wrong, from the looks on their faces.
"Do you suffer from fatigue, Invader?" one of them asked.
"Yes, and it's Zim." He said without bothering to glance at the speaker.
They continued to mutter, their voices reminding him of those dratted bees on Earth in their swarms.
"What's wrong with me?" He snapped as they entered the medical facilities. They looked at him blankly. "You obviously know something, so what's wrong with me?"
"Inva--" the technician stopped at his glare, and decided to start over. "Zim, I believe you studied, as a smeet, about the Rift?"
Zim nodded, remembering the lesson vaguely... Rifters were revolutionaries trying to overthrow Tallest Miyuki, and stop the invasion of planets. They protested the invasions as un-irkane and wished to devote resources instead to restoring Irk.
"You remember that they contaminated some of the smeets in the Invader Incubation chambers... resulting in hideous and demented Invaders..." the doctor looked hesitant. "We thought we had destroyed them all... they were too dangerous to live. But apparently..." the doctor looked at him nervously.
"One survived. Yes, I understand perfectly." Zim replied.