Growing Population
Epic Three
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe

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Chapter Five

"Come, Gir!" Zib jumped off the couch, dragging the robot behind him with some difficulty, "Put on your doggy disguise!"

"Oookie dokie!" GIR pulled his disguise out from his head and pulled it on, wagging his tail. "Where we goin' Mini-Master??" he wasn't used to going out so early, usually his walks with Zim happened at night.

"To Ms. Cten and Poe's base to see the hatchling!" His own communicator refolded as he pulled Gir towards the door, remembering his own meager disguise and sticking his contacts in.

"YAY! Baby!" GIR cheered, holding his own leash happily. Zib looked around for witnesses, then walked out the door, folding his arms behind his back and whistling as he marched down the street, while Gir, er, walked himself. GIR whistled happily to himself as the two walked down the street, still overly happy to be outside the house in the middle of the day. Zib eventually got to the house, wandering down the path and knocking on the door, somewhat nervous. He'd never been out without Mom or Dad before, at least, not since his creation. Poe's antennae lifted at the sound and he wandered over to the door, holding Enid with one arm while opening the door with the other,

"Hey, Zib, Gir," The Reject said with an inordinant amount of enthusism, just filled with happy.. happyness.

"Hi Poe!" GIR declared happily, entering the house and waving at Cten before sitting in front of the television, which was off mind - but still watched. Cten blinked, then let Zib in,

"My you certainly don't mess around do you?"

"Well, it's not that far.." Zib wandered in, looking up at the hatchling Poe had cradled to his shoulder, blinking, "That's.. her?" He said the pronoun with dread, and Poe nodded, grinning like a proud father,

"Not even a day old yet…"

"You must excuse Poe's giddy-ness Zib, Enid just said 'Da-da'. And yes, that is her." Cten replied gently. Enid was hiccuping now and again, but had stopped crying at least. Poe was indeed in giddyland, and Zib just raised an eyebrow.

"I thought hatchlings were.." He made a motion with his hands, "..smaller?"

"Well, technically yes." Cten sat on the couch, scooping up the remains of the shell. "But she seems to be like Poe, height wise anyway."

"Oh.." Great, not only was the hatchling a girl, but she was going to be bigger than him in not too long. Zib drummed his fingers together, "Mom said Irkens learn language and the ability to walk real soon.. when was that going to be?" Poe scowled at Zib slightly, but was in far too good a mood to be really mad,

"She just hatched, let her be a hatchling for at least a little while.."

"Maybe a couple of weeks, Zib." Cten replied, "First things first. She needs her ID Pack soon, then she'll grow accordingly." GIR looked up at Enid, who stared down at him before gazing around more.

"Aw.." Zib frowned.. Well, a playmate was still a play mate, even if she was a threat to his 7-year-old masculinity.

"Where were we going to get that, Cten?" Poe wondered as his hand rested against Enid's oddly - for an Irken - bare upper back. Cten pointed to her own ID Pack,

"I've had my Pack making one for her ever since she was laid," she replied. "I think it'd be ready in a couple of days, since they're not exactly easy to reproduce." Enid giggled slightly feeling Poe's hand on her back, since that area for Irkens were especially delicate either way. Poe blinked.

"Oh." He didn't even know pods were capable of that, patting Enid's back idly. Zib climbed onto the couch and hung his feet off of it,

"I thought she might've been born.. you know, like me."

"Well you have to remember, you were cloned from Zim and Dib, and you got both of their DNA, and since neither were new borns, you wouldn't have ben one." Cten replied, "Enid though, she was born naturally. Not a feat we Irkens usually do, mind you." Enid giggled more, holding onto Poe's shoulder.

"Yeah, Mom told me about that a while ago," He scowled, "He wouldn't say much though, just said I had to wait until I was older." Poe grinned, tickling Enid's back lightly and seeming to enjoy being a Dad so far. Hiccups now gone, Enid continued to giggle then she managed to turn around slightly while against Poe's shoulder and grab onto his hand.

"Heey!" Poe grinned and made a big show of trying to free his hand without actually using any sort of force.

"Well, I think that's about right." Cten said, then looked up at Poe and Enid. "Poe, let Enid see Zib for a bit." Poe looked over at Cten, frowning slightly,

"Aw, alright.." He sat down on the couch beside Zib and set Enid down gently, though he still held her in his lap, his protectiveness already rearing its head. Enid blinked a few times, then looked up at Zib. Her antennae perked slightly, seeing another one of the green things around she reached a hand out to him - smiling, showing she already had teeth and they were semi-sharp. Zib blinked and made one of Dib's 'eeigh' faces at the pointy teeth, warily reaching over and poking the outstretched hand,

"Um, hi."

"Aww." Cten cooed quietly. Enid giggled and grabbed onto his finger, still looking up at him - probably amazed by his glasses and hair. Zib yelped and looked mildly worried, as though Enid might eat him, or at least his finger. He tried to pull back weakly, but he was still aware that she was a hatchling and easily breakable and stuff. Enid tried to pull his finger back, and being bigger then the usual birth size she was somewhat stronger then normal. Once she had his finger back she just clung to it, like how babies usually cling to blankets and such.

"I think she likes you already, Zib." Cten said. Zib whimpered pathetically,

"But.. my finger.." He pulled again weakly, and sighed, resigning to the loss of his right index claw. Poe chuckled quietly and tapped Enid's antennae,

"You can have one of my fingers, Enid, I think Zib needs his." She looked up at her Da-da, smiled and let go of Zib's finger and clung onto his, squealing happily,

"Da-da!" Cten smirked, folding her arms.

"I'll have to wait till I get a 'Ma-Ma' out of her, eh?" she asked, smiling either way. Poe grinned warmly, them looked up at Cten,

"Aw, I'm sure she'll start saying Ma-ma soon enough.. Maybe it's just because she impressed on me first that she's saying it." Zib hugged onto his finger, rubbing it soothingly and eyeing the scraggly-toothed hatchling warily.

"Maybe you're right..." Cten looked down at Zib, "Did she slobber on your finger?" GIR, while this was happening was sat on the carpet in front of the four, watching Enid closely - since this was the first real Irken he'd seen so teeny tiny before. Zib blinked and examined it, he couldn't have told by feeling afterall, since he was wearing gloves.

"Oh, a little.. wait.. Irkens don't have acidic saliva, do they?" He started to look a little worried, now.

"No Zib, we don't." she replied, "Don't worry."

"Oh, whew," He scrubbed off the finger on his coat, sticking out the tip of his flat, square tongue.

"Well Zib, I think you best be going home soon... we don't want your Mom panicing when he comes home and finds both you and GIR missing." Cten had cast a gaze at the clock, and it was near the time for Skool to end. Zib blinked,

"I forgot all about that.." Unfortunately, Cten's clock was a bit late - Zim already was home, and panicking. A distant, Zim-like scream could be heard in the distance, coming from the direction of the base, "..uh oh."

"...I second that." Cten got up off the couch and pulled her wig and contacts in, then grabbed GIR's leash. "Come on Zib, before your Mom goes more ballistic." with that she gave a quick 'be back soon' to Poe and lead Zib out the door, GIR following. Zib was ushered out quickly, and Poe nodded, rolling his eyes slightly, certain Zim would somehow blame him for this later on. Oh, well. He turned on the TV again, and sat with his new daugher, watching it much like before. Zim, meanwhile, was tearing apart the home level of the base, looking for Zib, Gir, or at least a sign of them. Cten was hurrying, not wanting to arrive to Zim's base and find the whole place a mess - as par usual if anything wrong happened there it always resulted in a big mess. The three skidded to a stop, then she hurried up and flung the door open, already hearing Zim's searching sounds and calling out for Zib and GIR.

"Zim! Zim, he's here!" They had to dodge a piece of flying machinery, and a bedraggled Zim rose up from the mess, still wearing his wig partly, skewed and scruffed, with one antennae sticking out.

"ZIB!"

"Um.. Hi, mom," Zib grinned sheepishly, then yelped as Zim was suddenly *there*, scooping Zib off of his feet and hugging him to the point of near suffocation.

"Master!" GIR, wanting to be noticed too, threw his arms around Zim's leg happily, tail wagging a thousand miles a minute. Cten blinked, not really used to seeing Zim so.... Mother-ly before. Zim patted Gir's head as well, then set Zib down, relief turning into anger,

"Now just WHERE were you, young.. hybridy.. spawn?!"

"Um.. well.." Zib glanced over to Cten and Gir.

"We went for a walk!" GIR declared, happy to be noticed by his Master and snuggled his leg more.

"Uh, they came over to my place Zim." Cten replied, not wanting Zib to get into trouble. "See, my egg hatched and... and yeah I have a daughter now." she knew he wouldn't be happy to hear it, but it was the truth either way.

"What?! They left without any supervision, with that Reject no less?!" A look of horror crossed Zim's face, "Who knows what he could have done!" He didn't even seem to have heard Cten's last part. Zib rolled his eyes,

"He was too busy being sickeningly cute with his hatchling, Mom.." Either he did hear and was just ignoring it, knowing Zim it would have been the latter. Cten sighed,

"Nothing happened Zim, they weren't seen by anyone and I was with them the whole time." she explained.

"But still, he has germs! Even you probably have his germs!" He made a face at Cten and backed away from her, turning around so he was between her and Zib, his previous panic having made him totally unreasonable. She just stared back at him for a while, frowned then slapped Zim right across the face; and to say the least her years of doing her maid duties which included carting around heavy loads of assorted food she was stronger in her arms and hands then lead on. So it wasn't a pansy slap to say the least. Zim yelped and stumbled, holding the point of impact; he even had small scratches on his face from her claws. He stared ahead blankly, either from being knocked out of his earlier paranoia or at the fact his 'solider' just slapped him was unknown.

"...just watch what you say about my family Zim." she said calmy, before giving a small curtsey. "Underling or not, I have feelings and I want you to respect them." GIR giggled at how shocked his Master looked, not even seeming to care he had just been struck or not. Zim twitched back to life, face crinkling into growl,

"Zib might not be natural but he's still my offspring, so why don't you respect my wishes to keep him away from the Reject - no matter what 'feelings' you may have for him, it doesn't change the fact he's a Reject!"

"Very well then, I wouldn't want to upset my 'Commanding Officer'-" she did the finger wiggle thing, "-any more then I have." she turned around and walked from the room, stopped and looked back at him. "And by the way Zim, I'm not a Soilder. I'm a Maid." with that she swung the door open and left, slamming it behind her. GIR looked up at his Master, a sad look on his face.

"A maid?" He looked at the shut door in confusion, then shook his head in dismissal, "Bah, moody rebellious females! She was probably just saying that! That Reject's probably taught her to lie and disobey her superiors.." He grumbled to himself, then looked down at Gir, "What's your problem?" He snapped. Zib looked rather uncomfortable himself. GIR backed up slightly from Zim's snapping, his doggy ears drooping pathetically as he then walked from the room, holding his leash as he left.

"Bah!" He bah'd at Gir's back.

"Um, Mom.." Zib looked around, "Cten told me a while back.. but she told me to not tell you or Dad.."

"What?! Swearing my own spawn to secrecy?!" He looked furthe disgusted, then blinked, "What'd she say?" Zib squirmed slightly, and sighed,

"She told me she was a maid long ago.."

"Ms. Cten wuved cooking for meeee..." GIR whined sadly from where he now stood at the door, and hugged his leash. "She'd make all nice foods 'n stuff!" Zim was starting to look worried, maybe there was a grain of truth to her final words.

"But.. If she was a maid, why was she sent by the Tallest themSELVES to help me?! Cooking meals is nice and all but it does not further my mission!"

"She said.. um.. they did it so you'd remain convinced that you were.." Zib frowned, saying the next words with some difficulty, "That you were on a real mission.." Zim looked down at Zib blankly, then laughed obliviously,

"Of course I'm on a real mission, Zib!" GIR kept quiet now, he wasn't really sure if it was a mission or not. But sensing his Mini-Master might be lashed out at he came hurrying back besides Zib's side.

"A fake mission? Hah! They're just rying to mess up on my mission because of his Reject-ness is rubbing off on her! See Zib? That's the reason I don't want you being around them anymore, the Reject stuff might rub off on you and that's the last thing I want!" Zim sure was on a roll with his ranting, that's for sure.

"I dunno, Mom.. why would she tell me not to tell if it didn't mean something?" Zib looked kinda worried by his mom's apparent, well, delusions. Zim paused to think this over. The Tallest would play tricks with him, would they?

"Because... because... like I said! They want to turn you against me slow and sneakily by filling your innocent influentual mind with lies!"

"But they're so nice to me.." He said quietly, looking down at the floor. Zim stared at Zib with his arms folded. He couldn't help but feel a very tiny twinge of feeling for Zib - since despite the fact they were the only other Irkens, Reject or not, on the planet - and he had always gotten along with Cten, Maid or not. He sighed heavily and pulled on his antennae.

"Nngg..." he just wan't sure what to say now, for once.

"And.. besides," Zib frowned at the ground slightly, "Poe once told me some of the reasons why Irkens were Rejected.. You know, if they looked funny, had odd bodies, or whatnot.."

"What are you getting at?" Zim narrowed an eye at Zib, GIR was still stood by his Mini-Master's side looking a tad protective.

"Well.. wouldn't that make me like a Reject?" He motioned to his hair, and yellow skin, or maybe his glasses, it was too general to tell.

"W-What?!" okay, forget about all the panic and shock before, now he was switched on. He had never thought of that before, to him, Zib was his 'son' and he did care for him, though he didn't show it that much... but on Irk he would have been considered one for sure by his looks and how his body was structured inside. But he wouldn't tell Zib that, would he? "Well... Uhhmm... maybe just.... maybe you'd be... considered one back on Irk I mean." he fumbled.

"But... am I one here?" Zib looked up at Zim with pathetic eyes, voice faintly tinted with fear since he knew how much his mother hated them. Zim stared back at Zib's pathetic eyes, then sighed again his antenae lowering back.

"No, you're not a Reject here or to me...." He looked relieved, smiling a small smile. He then turned his head slightly,

"But if I'm not, since this isn't Irk.. would Poe still be either?" He knew he was going to ask that. Zim groaned loudly,

"The Reject... well........ I don't like him." he said, "He's a Reject but he's taller and, and even now he's got someone who cares about him and... and.... I just don't like Poe!" Zim folded his arms, glaring at the ground. Zib blinked, finding it odd hearing his Mom call Poe.. well, 'Poe', instead of Reject,

"..so you mean you're jealous?"

"What?! Nooo! Don't be...." he trailed off, blinking. Could he be jealous of P-the Reject? No, no he couldn't be... wait... was he? "...I... don't know... bah! I don't want to think about it!" Zib shrugged,

"Okay then..." He figured his Mom wasn't in the mood to talk, so he tried to be unobtrusive by going over to the TV and turning it on. Zim stood there, swinging his arms by his side, then walked past GIR and Zib, stopping at the door and turning back to see Zib.

"If you really want, you can still see… them." With that, he walked from the room. Zib watched his Mom go, smiling slightly, before standing up and running after him quietly, taking him by surprise by hugging the back of his legs and nearly throwing him off balance,

"Don't worry, Mom, I still like you the best." To say the least, Zim was taken by surprise but this helped. A lot. He smiled and hugged him back - before GIR leapt up and clung to his head, tail wagging again.

"I WUV YOU MASTER!!" and with that, Zim lost his balance pulling Zib to the ground with him.

"Ow, Gir!" Zib rubbed his forehead, which Gir's metal foot had clonked into, sitting up from the tangle of Irken, Robot, and alien-human spawn; the only reason his head had been in reach being that he was starting to get taller than Zim's waist, the height he'd been when he was first, er, concieved. Poor Zim, he'd better enjoy short Zib while he can.

[To be continued again]