Oooiey, it's been a while, aye? I live! LIIIVE! Sorry it took so long pplz, I've just been busy/lazy lately. Okee. Review, or I shall send Minimoose to gently chew upon your head until you are sad! ~glee~

Disclaimer: YOU MOCK ME, EVIL RED DEMON OF LAUGHTER!! *stabs Tickle- Me-Elmo*

Subject A

Back at the base...

Gir had gotten the signal from his master's reactivated backpod a few days ago, and was happily making some pudding for his master's return. He threw in some carrots, frozen French fries, a fish, an apple, and a stuffed toy donkey. Gir giggled and threw the mixture into the freezer to save for later.

The little robot skipped back into the living room and turned the TV on to the When Hobos Attack. He stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth laughed insanely as he watched a hobo chase after an ice cream truck, yelling random words.

Gaz stomped down the road, carrying a bag of books. She was heading for Zim's house. The skool had a Buddy Reading program, and Gaz and Zim were paired together. They took turns reading to each other, Zim reading stories of impending doom, Gaz reading stories of horrible suffering. Neither of them enjoyed it, and they spent most of the time trying to avoid eye contact.

At last Gaz reached the house. She sighed and rang the bell. The door was flung open and Gir bounced out with a bag of corn chips.

"HI!" Gir chirped happily.

Gaz clenched her fists in annoyance. "Where's Zim?"

"Um...somewhere where I do not know!" Gir cried happily.

"Well, why don't you find him?" Gaz growled at the android. Gir's eyes got wide and a smile stretched slowly across his face. He hadn't thought to track the signal from the backpod to his master. Perhaps he could find him. Gaz watched Gir's expression change and backed away, disturbed. Gir thought for a moment, then looked up at Gaz, smiling widely. He suddenly flung himself at her and gave her a big, sloppy kiss.

"AAAUUGH!" Gaz smacked Gir off and threw the bag of books on top of him. She wiped her mouth frantically and ran down the street.



At the Society

Zim stared up at the lights, the left side of his bruised face throbbing. It had been a long time since he'd first been brought to the Society. He took a deep breath, trying to get as much air as possible. His throat was raw and swollen, choking him and making him wheeze as he exhaled. He still refused to eat and drink, and even if he accepted the offerings, he wouldn't be able to swallow it. Zim's body was wet and shining with sweat, caused from his fever. His wounds were still fragile, and the skin around them sometimes cracked and bled.

Scientists sometimes stopped in to check if he was still alive, but for the most part, Zim was left alone. There was no way for him to tell how long he'd been in the room. The lights always were shining brightly, making his eyes water if he looked up. He couldn't tell the difference between the night and the day, and minutes seemed like hours. Zim had multiple emotions, furious one moment and terrified the next. The only time he had peace was in his sleep, but sometimes even his dreams taunted him.

Zim clenched his teeth together and clicked his tongue inside his mouth. He pressed his antennae flat across his head and narrowed his eyes. With all the power that was left in him, he fought against the latches that kept him down. He struggled and pulled away, anger powering his muscles. The latches held. Zim stopped abruptly, knowing it was useless. He panted heavily, sweat stinging his eyes and his throat suffocating him. He felt something cold and thick slipping across his arm. His struggling had caused deep wounds near his elbows.

Slowly, Zim rested his head to the side so it wouldn't throb as much. His thoughts drifted into worrying about what Gir would do without him and what the Tallest would think. He bit his lip and shook the thoughts away.

The door was suddenly flung open, startling Zim and making him jerk. In walked Dib, smirking and holding a clipboard. Zim narrowed his eyes and glared at his enemy. He hadn't seen him since he'd been hit with the plasma blast. His cheek twitched as he thought.

"Well, Zim, believe it or not, you've been in this room for 7 days now," said Dib, walking over to the table. "Tomorrow begins the experiments." He flipped through the papers on the clipboard. He walked around the table, inspecting Zim and his injuries. He wrote everything down. He needed the information to compare results.

Zim's muscles twitched as he glared at Dib, never taking him out of his sight. He remained quiet and calm in his fury. He gritted his teeth in his mouth, moving them from side to side. Dib walked around the table one last time and stopped near Zim's head. He took out a candy bar and started eating it.

"Gee, Zim. You sure have gotten thin. You on a diet or something?" Dib asked, chewing slowly. He knew Zim was starving and enjoyed the look on his face as he ate the candy. Zim couldn't take it.

"You filthy little Earth monkey! You dare mock me with your OVERLY- SIZED HEAD?!" Zim yelled, not caring how loud it was. Dib's eyes got big at the word 'head'. Zim saw this and grinned. "Your head is SOOOO big, that the solar system revolves around IT instead of the sun!"

Dib's eye twitched. "You're forgetting who has the advantage here..."

"THERE ONCE WAS A BOY NAMED DIB!

HIS HEAD WAS EXTREMELY BIG!

THE UNIVERSE COLLAPSED

AS HE LAID IT DOWN TO RELAX,

AND EVERYONE ENDED UP DEAD!"

Zim laughed as Dib backed away, flustered. Zim enjoyed Dib's irritation. Dib clenched his fists. He glared at Zim and pulled out a tazer from the backpod. Zim stopped laughing immediately. He'd forgotten about the backpod. Dib set the tazer to a high frequency and switched it on. A red glow came from it and it buzzed loudly. Zim's eyes got big as Dib walked up to him. He pulled away as Dib positioned the tazer near his neck.

"You'd best learn to hold your tongue."

Dib narrowed his eyes and pulled the tazer away, turning it off. A mechanical arm from the pod grabbed it and put it away. Zim sighed in relief. That particular tazer was a very strong one and would've easily killed him if he'd been zapped in the neck.

"Now, Zim, I was sent here to tell you something," Dib said, glaring at Zim. "We're changing your name. We can't be calling you by your real name - it would sound to buddy-like. It wouldn't be right morally. Instead, you will be known as Subject Alien, Subject A for short." Dib grinned smugly, his glasses shining in the light. "You'd better get some rest - you've got a big day ahead of you." He pulled out a syringe.



~woot~ I make Dib so evil, don't I? Zim keeps getting drugged up. Anyway, I think I need to tell you the game plan for future chapters. Okee...

The next few chapters will have a little Gir segment at the beginning, maybe a little Dib segment after that (keyword: maybe), then the rest of the chapter will be completly about a freaky little test they do on Zim. I only know what one of them will be, so I can't tell you the experiments yet.

After the tests will come some other stuff - but I'm not telling you now! HA HA! I LAUGH AT YOUR SUSPENSE! MUAHAHAHAHA! *ahem* Anyway, please review!

-Crystal