Hey there. Sorry it's been So long since I updated. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it's been a great help. This story has been really fun to write, and I love all the feedback. Enjoy.

Chapter 10

The bridge of the massive was lit up in the warm auburn glow of yet another flaming world that had fallen to the might of the Irken armada. The planets name was Skorch, and it was currently on fire. This would be sadly ironic on earth, where the word "scorch" means "burnt", but to the Tallest it was doubly funny, for in Irken the word "scorch" means "lovingly built over centuries of prosperity and social enlightenment." It was not a word they used often.

"Send in the snack ships!" ordered one tallest as he sucked juice from a box. On screen, he watched the giant transports, laden with pop-corn, marshmallows, and hotdogs, dive into the burning planet's upper atmosphere, heating their contents to a high grade of military deliciousness. The Tallest licked their lips as they watched the first of the ships return.

"My Tallest, there's an incoming message from Zim! Shall I put him on screen?" asked the communications officer.

"Just for asking, you get a zap," said the tallest, and pressed a button on his arm console. The loyal Irken writhed in pain as his Pak sent a jolt through his spine.

"Now, let's see what he wants." said the Tallest.

"B-but, you sai- ack!" cried the poor communications officer as he was jolted again. "Right, on-screen" he whimpered.

Zim's face appeared on the view-screen. He seemed graver than usually, on the verge of saying something of grave personal import. Gravely.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked.

"Uh…" said the tallest "Not too bad, you?"

"Well, you know, can't complain. Got a dirt-kid stuck to me."

"Yeah, still huh?"

"Yeah, yeah. Kinda why I called."

"Uh, ok."

"I was just sorta wondering if you still had that thingamabob I lent you, you know, the time displacement doohickey. I was thinkin' I could, y'know…alter the past to avoid my horrible doomed fate of doom."

"Well, uh…hey, you said that was a gift!" accused the tallest. "You know how much that thing means to us, we use it to eat snacks twice. See this snack?" he said, holding up a snack. "I ate this already." He leaned into the screen conspiratorially. "It tastes better the second time…"

"Well, can I at least borrow it for a while?" asked Zim. "I'm kind of in a jam here."

"You seem a little…different, Zim" remarked the tallest. "A little less…forceful…you're barely even italicizing."

"Well, if you must know. Sorry, must know, this rotten filth-monster's personality seems to be leaking into my own, like so much…leaking…stuff…"

"I see…you know, you're less irritating this way."

"Probably, I am pretty irritating, most of the time."

"Maybe you should stay this way, Zim, I think you'd be less of a problem for us."

"Well, if that's what you wan-" Zim tried to say, before going over head first to the floor as Dib somersaulted into view.

"No! Tallest! You have to listen to me! Listen to Dib! If you don't give us this time-machine, we'll be stuck like this forever. All of my plans, my plans of conquest will be ruined! I must con-, I mean, enlighten mankind…heh heh"

"Ok, this is we're used to… request den-"

"No! Almighty Tallest, I have a proposition. Give us the time machine, and we'll give you the formula for Zim's malleability serum!"

"Hey, that's mine, you can't just give it away!" cried Zim from under the console. He was awkwardly trying to climb up to the view-screen, but Dib held on with manic fury.

"Why on Irk would we want that?" chucked the tallest. "It seems horrible"

"But think of the snacks!" cried Dib, "with this serum, you could combine two, three, even four snacks into one!"

There was a hushed silence on the bridge of the massive. The crew all stared at the screen in awed stultification.

"Go on." breathed the tallest.

"Imagine, twinkies and hotdogs, mixed with sugar puffs and…and…spooge cake!" yelped Dib. "sugar-spooge-twinkie-dogs! All the power of many snacks, combined into one!"

The Tallests' eyes watered a little. They licked their lips. "Alright, earth boy, it's a deal. You get us the serum, we give you the machine. Send the machine to earth!" ordered the Tallest. Dib grinned in relief as the transport officer was stirred from his reverent hush. He wiped a tear from his eye and keyed in the sequence to activate the transporter.

Deep in the bowels of The Massive, the time displacement device was bathed in an ethereal glow, and vanished, beaming its way to Zim's base. On the bridge of the massive, the crew stood, turned to Dib's image, and saluted.

"Truly, this is a great day for all Irk-kind…" whispered one Tallest.

"Hey, who wants s-mores?" the other yelled as a table-headed server-drone appeared with war-warmed snacks for all.