Ch 14: Broken souls and broken wings

Disclaimer: The hobo named Boggles commands me to say this: The right to Invader Zim do not belong to me, but they do belong to Nickelodeon & Jhonen Vasquez.

(A/N: thanks for the dimension in Dib's head Call Me Blue Streak! When I'm done with this fic, I'll go on a safari there for my vacation. I'll remember to take pictures)

Something was not right. Dib noticed this as much as he noticed Brandy's empty chair. "Where is she? She said she'd be at school." Dib paused for a moment to glare at a kid who called him crazy for talking to himself. Having done that, Dib goes back to his current predicament. "Oh no! What if she was spotted and captured right after she left my house? What if she's-"

"Dib! Be quiet and pay attention!" Dib listened to only the first part of Ms. Bitter's orders, but before he could resume thought, the door swung open. Into the classroom walked two beefy-looking men(picture the assistants from 'lice') who whispered in low voices to Ms. Bitters. "Dib, you are excused from class." But as Dib approached the exit with the two men, the creepy, and possibly immortal, teacher snaps an accusing finger at him."Don't think for a moment that you're getting away from homework. Write a thirty-page essay on how potato chips will eventually be our downfall of Doom!"

As Dib walked down the hallways with the two behemoths, one of them spoke to him. "You are Agent Mothman, ya?" Dib nodded at the man at his left. "Dark Booty vants to speak vith you personally." The two men( lets call them George and Samuel) led the paranormal investigator to their car, which was black. "Hop in" said George (the one who spoke to him in the hallway) Dib does what he is told.

The car ride to the Swollen Eyeballs's headquarters was very long and very awkward. Our large-headed hero was sitting in the middle of the back seat, while George and Samuel talked in whispers to each other. Samuel, being in the passenger seat, occasionally glanced back at Dib with wary eyes.

Five hours and a ran over stop sign later( George chanced a wary look at Dib and suffered the consequences of losing control of the steering, not to mention a spendy traffic ticket) George, Samuel, and Dib had finally made it to their destination: The Swollen Eyeballs headquarters. "I've been meaning to ask." Dib spoke up as they came through the double doors and made their way down the glistening white hallways, "Why exactly did Dark Booty want to speak with me about?" Samuel just shot Did a very creepy smile. "You'll know soon enough, kinder" George says to the paranormal investigator, using the German word for child as a nickname for Dib. Soon they came to the end of the hallway, and the beginning of an elevator. There was a ding!, and the doors of the elevator slid aside to let the trio in. Samuel pressed the button commanding the elevator to descend to the bottom floor, which was more then likely underground. When they reached the bottom, and the doors slid away to reveal the room they were to enter, Dib let out a cry that was a mix of surprise and anguish, for Brandy was there. The brunette was contained in a rather large greenhouse-looking plexiglass box. Inside the 'greenhouse' along with Brandy were trees, ferns, and other such tropical plants. She was perched atop a poplar, tears pouring down her cheeks. Dib could hear his girlfriend's faint singing:

The stars will cry the blackest tears tonight

this is the moment that I live for,

I can smell the ocean air

Here I am, pouring my heart onto these rooftops,

Just a ghost to the world

that's exactly, exactly what I mean

From up here the city lights burn,

like a thousand miles of fire,

and I'm here to sing this anthem

of our dying day-

"Be quiet! Noisy little freak..." Dib's heart burned with anger as he recognized that voice. Agent Dark Booty then noticed who had arrived. "Agent Mothman! I'm so glad you came." Dark Booty held out his hand in greeting, but Dib didn't take it. Dark Booty, surprisingly enough, just grinned smugly at Dib's hostility. "You're probably upset with me for caging that freak over there, huh? But isn't that what you wanted?"

"Deep in my heart, I never wanted it."

For a second I wish the tide,

would swallow every inch of the city

as you gasp for air tonight-

"Stop that!"

I'd scream this song right in your face if you were here

I swear I won't,

Miss a beat.

Because I never have before-

"I told you-" Dark Booty takes out of his pocket what looks like a remote control with nothing but a button. He pushes it, and, as Dib then notices that there is some sort of collar strapped around Brandy's neck, a wave of voltage shocks the brunette and she tumbles to the ground. Her wings(which were still there) retracted into her back. "-to be quiet." Dark Booty finishes as Brandy groans in pain. "sigh I have no idea what you see in her. No doubt she is beautiful... when she's in a cage." Dib growled at Dark Booty, who in turn glared. "I know of your relationship with this freak, and to be honest I'm disappointed in you. You failed to report your discovery to the Swollen Eyeballs which is punishable by expulsion. However..." Dark Booty sneered, " I'm willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself." Dib sadly walked up to the 'greenhouse'. Brandy recovered from the shock and had gotten up to face her boyfriend. Now the only thing that separated them was the glass as they pressed their hands against it. If it wasn't there, the couple's hands would touch. "Forget her. She doesn't have feeling's; she's only pretending to have them just so she could control you."

"Brandy would never try to control anyone. Of all people, she knows what it's like to live in a cage." Dark Booty shook his head sadly. "I fear she's poisoned your mind. No matter, you'll be free from her spell soon enough." Suspicious, Dib directs his attention to Dark Booty. "What do you mean?" Dark Booty gave a sinister chuckle. "The freak has characteristics much like a siren, Agent Mothman. Wings, a voice that enchants- not to mention a talent for anything that has to do with the arts. I see why she wanted that as her codename." then he issued a sad sigh. "She does have a beautiful voice. Too bad we're going to have to remove her vocal cords to make her less dangerous for the experiments." Dib was horrified at what he heard. "You're a monster."

"I'm not the monster, Mothman, that freak behind theplexiglass is. I'm going to relish the day when I cut her open on an autopsy table and see what's inside." At this point, Dib was between the lines of punching Dark Booty out of anger, and breaking down out of overwhelming despair. Then a thought hit him. "How did you capture her?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, that. Someone sent an anonymous e-mail of a clear picture of the freak in her transformed state before we hatched our plan. At first I had no clue who It could be, but then I realized who it was, and that you lied to me about 'Agent Siren' not being able to make it last night because she was suffering from food poisoning" Dib gasped, realizing who it was that sent in the incriminating photo. 'Zim.'

"Agent Mothman?" Dark Booty interrupted Dib's revelation. "Yes?"

"I mentioned earlier about giving you a chance to redeem yourself. I suggest that you take that chance." Dib, knowing that what he just heard was a both a threat and a chance to rescue Brandy, responded "What do I have to do?"

"Meet us back here at 7:00 tonight. That is when we will start the operation on the freak. I want you to not only attend this, but to be the one holding the scalpel." As much as it pained Dib to say this, he answered "All right. I'll do it."

Dib waited in the rising elevator, concocting a scheme to free his lover. He knew that before hand, he would have to make a pit stop to a certain alien's house...ding! He was at the top floor, which was the floor level with the surface of the earth. As the paranormal investigator made the long walk to the double doors, he spotted an ax enclosed in glass(the ones people use during fire emergencies). Smiling, he broke the glass with his fist and fished the ax out. "This is going to come in handy..."

(A/N: What's Dib going to do with the ax? Will Brandy's vocal cords be removed? Omigod! This chapter is sooooo long! It was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it off when the tension was building. Like I said, I am PURE EVIL! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- see? How can I not be evil if I have an evil laugh which creeps out my friends by the way well, except my friend that wants to be evil but can't because she doesn't have an evil laugh. Boy, do I have interesting friends.)