Future Shock
Clink, scrape, foom!
"Gah!"
Zims' antenna twitched at the sounds. He was sitting with his back to Dib who was working away at finding what made the Irken grow. Zims' eye lowered back to the 'Rubix Cube' he had found a few nights ago. "Did you wound yourself horribly?" He asked not turning to Dib.
"Erg, I'm fine, my eyebrows are still there." Dib said. "I have to remember your blood plasma is highly flammable by itself."
Zim turned the cube a few more times enjoying the click sounds it made. He liked this toy.
The door came open. The bad thing about that was that Zim had his feet resting on a table right behind it. The person who was already in the room had slamed the door wide open hitting the table. And knocking it right over.
Zim hit the ground hard. "My spine!" He glared up but found Gaz grinning at him.
"I see you two are hard at work."
Dib turned to look at his sister. It never ceased to amaze him. She was still the gothic don't-touch-me gamer chick. But she was listened to now. She made decisions most of which he suspected were based from her games.
"I'm close I know I am." Dib said turning back to the liquids and powders before him. He picked up a test tube and poured the pale blue liquid into a sample of Zims' blood. The red dissolved away as steam rose. "Oops."
"What?" Zim asked struggling to get up. "What happened?"
Dib dumped the test tube. "Nothing, nothing at all."
Zim didn't look convinced but chose to ignore it.
"Well I'm not here to just check up on you. We need another pair of eyes for the West barrier. Gir's been helping, sort of." Gaz said, her eyes were still so squinted unless she WANTED you to see them.
"I'll go. Dib you stay." Zim said crossing his arms.
Dib was, by now, used to the 'order giving' style Zim used. "Fine." He started to tinker around with a rusty nail.
Zim went with Gaz out into the dim hallway. He was slightly taller than her and had been forced to change his clothes for something better fitting. The Human clothes itched a little but they fit and kept him warm.
"Dib expects to have the element by the end of the month." Zim said feeling the need for some conversation.
"He's had six already. The armada landed last month." Gaz said pushing some hair from her face.
"So far the." He cringed. "Water, has kept them at bay."
"If they only knew you were on our side."
"Yes." Zim said slowing slightly. "If they only knew."
* * *
A few wary eyes fluttered from Zim then back to the outlying lands. They had moved around a lot in the past, what was it now? Zim could hardly remember, was it a year and a half or was it two now? Time didn't pass to well in a war zone.
"Weehheehe!" Gir giggled as he ran around in the commons area. The younger children of the under 18 rebellion delighted in his antics. The small SIR unit never wore his puppy suite anymore. It had been torn to shreds some time ago. He had dents and scrapes from when he had taken on a Slaughtering Rat Person, and won. Not that Gir recognized the Rat Person had died. Zim was sure that if Gir knew he had actually KILLED something he would have shut himself off, permanently.
Zim pulled the scarf up closer over his face. Out in the open he covered his clearly Irken markings incase a scout spotted him.
He looked down over the barrier that was basically a thirty-car-pile-up. Gaz was on the outside with Gon and a few others collecting bits and pieces that the group could use.
One of the gatherers looked up at him. Ker, he gave Zim a hateful glare and went back to collecting.
Zim clenched his jaw. That one was totally against even allowing Zim to live. His whole family had been taken by Zims' droids in preparation for the armadas' arrival.
Zim had tried to explain why he had done all those things. Why he was even there. But Ker never seemed to understand where exactly it was that Zim had come from. A militaristic culture, where if you didn't follow orders you were better off dead than what they did to you.
Ker had actually tried to hit Zim. But he had ducked and pinned the Human with the aid of his extra legs. It had been out in the open, everyone had seen it start.
Zim had spoken loudly enough for all to hear. He was not a weak follower of the Tallest any more. And he was going to help the Humans whether they liked it or not.
From that time on Ker had left him alone. But still exchanged those angry stares with him. Almost like a lower intelligence level version of Dib.
Zim looked back out to the horizon. Everything had been decimated by his droids. He was still proud that he had in-fact been able to take over the Earth with Dib out of the way. But as of right now he was not proud of his leaders.
He knew he was manic at times and didn't always do the greatest job, but he had given everything he'd had to them. And they had thrown him aside when they got what they wanted.
Now all he wanted was revenge.
Then maybe peace, if he could ever get himself to live with it.
"I got it!" Dib pounded up the ramp that had been set up to allow the guards onto the pile-up.
Zim turned to him curiously.
Dib held up the rusty nail he had been messing with. "It's the Iron!"
The other guards watched cautiously. They didn't trust Dib much. He had Irken technology in his body and was as close as anyone dared to get to Zim. Well besides Gaz, but they all trusted Gaz. If they didn't she gave them that creepy evil eye.
"Iron." Zim said rather than asked.
"Yes! Well, plain rust anyway, I've been isolating everything to try and find a single cause." Dib seemed over excited. Gaz had looked up to find out what all the noise was about.
Dib kept going. "But then I dropped the nail in some of your blood, the cells it touched actually multiplied!" Dib inhaled. "It's not supposed to do that!"
"Dib you found it?" Gon called up.
"I did!" Dib yelled back at him.
Zim found it slightly ironic that the thing that made him grow and would cause him much pleasure was created by water, the thing that had caused him much pain. He glanced down to see Gon looking wildly happy and with one arm around, Gaz? He felt a pang somewhere he couldn't identify.
He suddenly saw Gaz's eyes she was smiling? No, smirking, no, that wasn't right. She just looked, amused. Yes that was right.
He couldn't help but copy her look.
Gon looked at Zim then down at Gaz. He took his arm off her slowly.
Dib was too happy with his discovery to notice that anything was even slightly amiss. Though I'm sure if he did, he would have slugged either Gon or Zim, or perhaps even both.
Clink, scrape, foom!
"Gah!"
Zims' antenna twitched at the sounds. He was sitting with his back to Dib who was working away at finding what made the Irken grow. Zims' eye lowered back to the 'Rubix Cube' he had found a few nights ago. "Did you wound yourself horribly?" He asked not turning to Dib.
"Erg, I'm fine, my eyebrows are still there." Dib said. "I have to remember your blood plasma is highly flammable by itself."
Zim turned the cube a few more times enjoying the click sounds it made. He liked this toy.
The door came open. The bad thing about that was that Zim had his feet resting on a table right behind it. The person who was already in the room had slamed the door wide open hitting the table. And knocking it right over.
Zim hit the ground hard. "My spine!" He glared up but found Gaz grinning at him.
"I see you two are hard at work."
Dib turned to look at his sister. It never ceased to amaze him. She was still the gothic don't-touch-me gamer chick. But she was listened to now. She made decisions most of which he suspected were based from her games.
"I'm close I know I am." Dib said turning back to the liquids and powders before him. He picked up a test tube and poured the pale blue liquid into a sample of Zims' blood. The red dissolved away as steam rose. "Oops."
"What?" Zim asked struggling to get up. "What happened?"
Dib dumped the test tube. "Nothing, nothing at all."
Zim didn't look convinced but chose to ignore it.
"Well I'm not here to just check up on you. We need another pair of eyes for the West barrier. Gir's been helping, sort of." Gaz said, her eyes were still so squinted unless she WANTED you to see them.
"I'll go. Dib you stay." Zim said crossing his arms.
Dib was, by now, used to the 'order giving' style Zim used. "Fine." He started to tinker around with a rusty nail.
Zim went with Gaz out into the dim hallway. He was slightly taller than her and had been forced to change his clothes for something better fitting. The Human clothes itched a little but they fit and kept him warm.
"Dib expects to have the element by the end of the month." Zim said feeling the need for some conversation.
"He's had six already. The armada landed last month." Gaz said pushing some hair from her face.
"So far the." He cringed. "Water, has kept them at bay."
"If they only knew you were on our side."
"Yes." Zim said slowing slightly. "If they only knew."
* * *
A few wary eyes fluttered from Zim then back to the outlying lands. They had moved around a lot in the past, what was it now? Zim could hardly remember, was it a year and a half or was it two now? Time didn't pass to well in a war zone.
"Weehheehe!" Gir giggled as he ran around in the commons area. The younger children of the under 18 rebellion delighted in his antics. The small SIR unit never wore his puppy suite anymore. It had been torn to shreds some time ago. He had dents and scrapes from when he had taken on a Slaughtering Rat Person, and won. Not that Gir recognized the Rat Person had died. Zim was sure that if Gir knew he had actually KILLED something he would have shut himself off, permanently.
Zim pulled the scarf up closer over his face. Out in the open he covered his clearly Irken markings incase a scout spotted him.
He looked down over the barrier that was basically a thirty-car-pile-up. Gaz was on the outside with Gon and a few others collecting bits and pieces that the group could use.
One of the gatherers looked up at him. Ker, he gave Zim a hateful glare and went back to collecting.
Zim clenched his jaw. That one was totally against even allowing Zim to live. His whole family had been taken by Zims' droids in preparation for the armadas' arrival.
Zim had tried to explain why he had done all those things. Why he was even there. But Ker never seemed to understand where exactly it was that Zim had come from. A militaristic culture, where if you didn't follow orders you were better off dead than what they did to you.
Ker had actually tried to hit Zim. But he had ducked and pinned the Human with the aid of his extra legs. It had been out in the open, everyone had seen it start.
Zim had spoken loudly enough for all to hear. He was not a weak follower of the Tallest any more. And he was going to help the Humans whether they liked it or not.
From that time on Ker had left him alone. But still exchanged those angry stares with him. Almost like a lower intelligence level version of Dib.
Zim looked back out to the horizon. Everything had been decimated by his droids. He was still proud that he had in-fact been able to take over the Earth with Dib out of the way. But as of right now he was not proud of his leaders.
He knew he was manic at times and didn't always do the greatest job, but he had given everything he'd had to them. And they had thrown him aside when they got what they wanted.
Now all he wanted was revenge.
Then maybe peace, if he could ever get himself to live with it.
"I got it!" Dib pounded up the ramp that had been set up to allow the guards onto the pile-up.
Zim turned to him curiously.
Dib held up the rusty nail he had been messing with. "It's the Iron!"
The other guards watched cautiously. They didn't trust Dib much. He had Irken technology in his body and was as close as anyone dared to get to Zim. Well besides Gaz, but they all trusted Gaz. If they didn't she gave them that creepy evil eye.
"Iron." Zim said rather than asked.
"Yes! Well, plain rust anyway, I've been isolating everything to try and find a single cause." Dib seemed over excited. Gaz had looked up to find out what all the noise was about.
Dib kept going. "But then I dropped the nail in some of your blood, the cells it touched actually multiplied!" Dib inhaled. "It's not supposed to do that!"
"Dib you found it?" Gon called up.
"I did!" Dib yelled back at him.
Zim found it slightly ironic that the thing that made him grow and would cause him much pleasure was created by water, the thing that had caused him much pain. He glanced down to see Gon looking wildly happy and with one arm around, Gaz? He felt a pang somewhere he couldn't identify.
He suddenly saw Gaz's eyes she was smiling? No, smirking, no, that wasn't right. She just looked, amused. Yes that was right.
He couldn't help but copy her look.
Gon looked at Zim then down at Gaz. He took his arm off her slowly.
Dib was too happy with his discovery to notice that anything was even slightly amiss. Though I'm sure if he did, he would have slugged either Gon or Zim, or perhaps even both.
