The arrival to Skoodge's base was quick. Dib had agreed to drive due to the fact that he already knew the location of Zim's base and he wasn't sure he trusted Conner to not just drive them straight to Q's to start some sort of fight. After seeing his battle-hungry eagerness, it had occurred to Dib that he really didn't know all that much about Clark's brother. It was weird to think they had been raised together with Clark being easy going and Conner seeming to always be ready to fight. Dib vaguely wondered what the rest of the crew was like.

As they reached the house and walked up to the door, it was opened by none other than Skoodge who looked mildly annoyed by their presence. "Funny seeing you here." He remarked dryly. He was wearing his human disguise, and was far more convincing as a human than the Robo-parents. Though Dib highly doubted the neighbors cared.

"We need to talk to you." Dib pushed passed Skoodge to the inside of the house, Conner following suit, his dark eyes visibly sizing the place up.

"Yes please, come in. Our security system will electrocute me for having a conversation but apparently you just forcing your way in is completely fine." Skoodge didn't really put up much of a fight. "CB! Intruders? Are you going to do anything about this?"

"I helped them get here ." The house replied helpfully.

The look of sheer disdain on Skoodge's face spoke volumes as he looked at CB's holographic representation of himself as it shimmered into view. "Of course you did. Why would a security system designed to protect an Irken stronghold want to keep people out ?" The hologram tilted its head to the side quizzically.

"I am sensing that you do not approve of my choices ."

"CB, are you aware what a security system is supposed to do? Because it is the exact opposite of what you are doing right now." As Skoodge explained the AI's original purpose to it, GIR wandered up, not even bothering with his unconvincing dog disguise. Skoodge glanced down at the SIR unit with a defeated expression. "I don't suppose you are going to do anything about the intruders, are you?" GIR's blue eyes flashed to red.

" Yes, for the Master! " He charged toward Conner who reached for his weapon but Dib stopped him as GIR's eyes flickered back to blue and he began to hug the alien officer's legs. " You're my new BEST FRIEND! " he announced proudly.

"ZIM!" Skoodge called over his shoulder. "Your security AI and SIR decided to allow that Syndicate Ranger from the Dab's apartment into your base." It wasn't long before Zim emerged from the toilet-elevator, wearing a pair of oversized goggles but otherwise not bothering with even his most simple of disguises.

"Who is this Dab !?" He looked over at Dib and the magnified red eyes blinked behind the goggles. "Oh, you mean that Dib-human." He looked over Dib and Conner not looking so much surprised as just confused by their arrival. (Dib was starting to think Skoodge was getting his name wrong on purpose ). "Now I would expect GIR to let anyone walk in but CB..." He started to try to defend the security AI but trailed off, defeated. "No... I expect it from CB too." Zim let out a sigh looking at the SIR and the security hologram each in turn. "You are both just... absolutely awful at your jobs. I hope you realize this."

GIR released Conner's legs only to, instead, throw himself at Zim, hugging into him affectionately. " Awwww I love you too Master !"

"No GIR." Zim attempted to push him away but the SIR had a good deal of strength to it and Zim eventually gave up and allowed GIR to hang off.

" I am helping- just in a more abstract way ." CB protested.

"Doing the exact opposite of what you were made to do isn't helping in an 'abstract way' it's just not helping." Skoodge retorted quickly.

"He raises a good point, Skoodge ." Zim looked a tad contemplative.

"No he doesn't. Zim don't humor him." Skoodge turned back to the non- Irkens that had waltzed into the supposedly secure base. "What exactly do you two want now?"

"You Irkens pretended to be my brother and stole back the weapon you gave us!" Conner immediately jumped into accusations before Dib could even speak. Dib sighed putting his face in his hand. Skoodge and Zim just looked at each other in confusion before both of them burst out laughing. Skoodge had finally decided to drop the disguise, making him short enough for Zim to lean on him as the two laughed rather hard.

"No. None of that happened. All of what you just said is so wrong that I don't even know where to start." Skoodge wiped his eye.

"If I was going to steal the gun back, I would do it as myself!" Zim added. (Dib had to admit that checked out). " Zim is proud of his work!"

"Your brother is Clark, right? The other guy from the apartment-the roommate?" Skoodge had lightened up considerably, despite being interrogated by an angry (but now confused) Conner. "You said he's your brother? Isn't that part of a family unit? You two aren't even the same species."

"We were both adopted." Conner looked a little frustrated. "But he's still family and I don't want you Irkens framing him for treason!"

"First of all, that's rude to accuse us of that." Skoodge replied a tad indignantly.

"Not that we wouldn't do it- and do it well-" Zim cut off as Skoodge nudged him. He blinked at his fellow (more experienced) Invader before quickly adding "but that would put us at war and you aren't worth the resources the Empire would put into fighting you."

"Secondly," Skoodge continued seamlessly as if Zim had never interrupted, "if we were going to frame one of you for stealing that weapon it wouldn't have been Clark. He is like the worst choice, even just between the two of you."

"Clark's a great choice! He's strong enough to punch through solid walls, and he's the fastest one in our group!" Conner protested.

"You're supposed to be defending Clark; not helping form the case against him." Dib quickly reminded Conner of his actual purpose.

"Yeah but..." Skoodge trailed off looking thoughtful. "You... you don't know much about what Clark is... do you?"

"W-well no." Conner hesitated. "I mean... no one does. My moms found him as a baby. We couldn't find any information about him or his home planet. But I don't care what he is- it's who he is that matters and that's my brother- and definitely NOT a thief."

"That actually answers a great deal of questions." Skoodge looked to be deep in thought.

"That explains why you are wasting him as a doctor." Zim smirked. "If he were in the Irken military he would be in the front lines, fighting for our people!"

"He's a doctor because that is what he wanted to be and the Syndicate believes in an individual's right to follow a career that makes them happy." Conner narrowed his eyes,

"And that dumb outlook is another reason why the Syndicate is inferior to the Empire." It seemed to Zim that he had won the argument. (Though it was hard to take him seriously as GIR was still clinging to his side).

"Look, proving that Clark is innocent is easy." Skoodge quickly pulled the conversation back on track, ignoring Zim's little outburst. "It is also pointless if your Captain is the traitor. All that will happen is a new excuse will be used to keep him in lockdown. Or blame will shift to someone else. If we want to prove what is really happening, then what we need is to be able to pinpoint the actual threat beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"Can't you just scan them like you did Clark and Conner?" Dib asked. It seemed like an easy enough plan, but Skoodge rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly.

"Our scanners can be fooled. It's hard- mind you- but it can happen."

"Ch, not like any Syndicate idiot would be brilliant enough to fool Irken tech." Zim scoffed at the very concept. "But I suppose if it was a member of the Syndicate it wouldn't be much of a traitor... or a disguise..."

"IT WAS ME! " The SIR interjected helpfully. " I WAS THE PIZZA ALL ALONG !"

"Q knows who it is, doesn't he?" Skoodge ignored GIR but Conner was still staring in complete bewilderment at the insane mechanical assistant.

"Is he okay?" Conner looked genuinely concerned.

"He's never okay." Zim's response was just... tired.

"And that's why we aaaaaaaalll can go get monkeys and be the best parents we can be. " GIR nuzzled himself to Zim's face, despite the Irken's attempts to pry him off. " Isn't that right Master !?" GIR poked his tongue out. Zim heaved a heavy sigh.

"Please get off me." GIR responded by bursting into a fit of high-pitched giggles, pulling himself more tightly to Zim ..

"No. "

"CB, take care of GIR, please." Skoodge waved to the hologram.

"Take care of him as in: remove him from the area? Or take care of him as in: " CB made a motion as if cocking a gun.

"Just take him upstairs CB. And no more mafia movies for you." It was a little funny how much Skoodge was starting to adjust to the chaos of living in Zim's lair.

"But I enjoy them ."

"Not now CB," Zim finally contributed to the conversation. "You're grounded anyway." A mechanical arm descended from the ceiling, peeling GIR off of Zim's face and began to draw him, with an indignant huff.

"I am going to watch them anyway." CB pulled the little SIR up into the overhead metal panels as it began flailing around excitedly.

" WEEEEEEE BREAKIN' THE RULES! " And with that he was gone.

"A... are they supposed to be like that?" Conner looked up to the ceiling where GIR's happy squeals could still be heard echoing in the tiles as CB tried to calm him down.

"No." Skoodge cut him off quickly. "Now, I think our best course of action is to talk with Q." Dib had been trying his very best to avoid that response. He knew Conner was ready to throw down with the Parasite at a moment's notice; and honestly, Zim would probably be happy to fight. But Skoodge had consistently been the voice of reason. Dib still had concerns.

"But he's terrible. And, I highly doubt he's trustworthy."

"Not really. But his biological makeup allows for him to pinpoint anything pretending to be something it's not. He found the traitor before it would be simple for him to do it again. Parasites are awful, but they can be easily bought for the right price."

"We could also threaten him with our superior Irken tech!" Zim's attempts at being helpful were only a step above GIR's.

"We want him to tell the truth; let's not threaten him." Skoodge put a hand on Zim's arm to calm him. "He's an absolute asshole, but he's not unreasonable, we could offer him something." Zim made an expression of distaste .

"Do you really think Q is necessary?" Dib still had nightmares of that slowly deteriorating humanoid form chasing him through the shelf-lined apartment. It wasn't like he was afraid of Q or anything (at least, that is what Dib told himself) but Dib had been the one gazing up into that tooth lined void of a mouth- not Skoodge.

"The telepathic abilities of the Parasites would make them ideal for seeking out the traitor." Skoodge replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

"It's not ideal for us either." Zim added, looking far from thrilled with the scenario. "But Irkens must sometimes forge treaties with the scum of the planet in order to further the Empires cause. You know, like the Syndicate, or you- no offense." Conner and Dib exchanged looks.

"How is that not offensive?!" Conner protested angrily, but Dib patted his back, shaking his head- having been through this exchange with the Irkens before.

"Don't bother. They think if they say 'no offense' that means it's okay to say."

"Oh," Conner blinked. " So they're stupid-."

"HEY!" Zim cut him off looking ready to fight.

"No offense ." Conner finished.

"Well played." Zim narrowed his eyes through his goggles. Dib had to give Conner credit, that had proved their point.

"How do you know Q will agree to any of this?" Dib still had a great deal of concerns about the abomination in the inner-city apartment complex acting as their informant. "He wasn't exactly your biggest fan last we saw him."

"That's because we extorted him for his weapons. But I'm sure he's over it by now. That's pretty mild for an Irken -Parasite interaction." Skoodge dismissed Dib's concerns with frustrating ease. "Plus, I'm sure if the Syndicate agrees to let him be in return for his help, he'll be glad to lend an appendage." Conner blinked as all eyes were on him.

"I-I don't have that kind of pull."

"If we find a traitor, I'm sure the highest-ranking officer on your ship will be happy to oblige . And we Irkens will look better for taking time out of our 'vacation' to aid in a Syndicate plight." Skoodge called it a vacation- and maybe for him it was. But Dib was positive this was banishment for Zim (though Conner didn't seem to know that).

"How generous of you." Conner glared at the Invaders with disdain.

"Like you would selflessly help us if we were in a similar plight."

"Fair." Conner ran a hand through his hair. It was clear he was getting increasingly frustrated with the antics of the Irkens and Dib figured it was only a matter of time before he got trigger happy again. "You know where the Parasite is located, so why not take me to him?"

"We can take the human's transport. He found the Parasite before; it shouldn't be hard for him to locate it again. Right Dub?" Dib wasn't sure how much he liked being volunteered for driving by a creature that couldn't even remember his name. But he swallowed the urge to see how far he could punt Skoodge and simply grabbed his keys.

"If we are going to let Dib drive, I want the front seat." Zim pushed passed Dib making his way to the car.

"Woah no way! I want the front seat!" Conner was not going to be ousted so easily. Dib just let out a long sigh, wondering if it worth the knowledge of worlds beyond his own if it meant having to deal with aliens fighting over his car.

"No one gets the front seat. You can all sit in the back!" Dib replied decisively. But that didn't do much as he saw Zim was already sitting in the front seat. Defeated, he hopped in the driver's side, as Conner and Skoodge got in the back. "CB, plug in coordinates for Q."

" Shhhh they do not know I am in here ." Dib's car protested in a very loud and obvious whisper. Skoodge looked over at Zim who simply looked back at him and shrugged.

"CB you can stop being a car later but for now take us to Q. But you are still grounded." Zim replied decisively, though Dib had the sneaking suspicion CB would just stay in his car regardless of what Zim had to say.

It wasn't an unpleasant drive, exactly, but it wasn't like Dib was looking forward to what awaited them at the end of the journey. Sure enough as they pulled into the bitter, dreary little apartment complex in the middle of the city- Dib felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. He pulled into a parking space, watching as a young couple exited the building with the same, vacant expression as the man he and CB had seen before. Even their skin looked more ashen, eyes sunken and posture slouched and defeated as they walked together past the car staring straight ahead. Dib watched them walk straight into a nearby wall, continuing to move like poorly programmed NPCs from one of Gaz's games. Eventually they seemed to find their way around the wall but they never smiled, never looked at one another, never spoke, never even blinked.

"Huh..." Skoodge watched the couple saunter off as he headed toward the complex. "At least he should be well fed, that should make things easier." Dib looked around at his companions and only Conner seemed disturbed by what had just transpired. He saw Conner draw his weapon again, clicking a switched that caused it to buzz to life.

"I can't believe you dragged me back here..." They creeped down the stairs into the basement apartments , locating Q's with ease. Dib reached up to knock, but just as before the door swung open without his touch.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected ." Dib's mouth tasted of bile as he heard that calm too-perfect-to-be human voice worm its way into his skull. "If your Irken friends are here for another shakedown, I am sorry to say I have collected nothing new ." There was a sigh from inside his mind. "Now is that really necessary ?" Dib looked over to see Conner , with his gun pointed up. Following his gaze, Dib saw Q. The Parasite was sitting on the ceiling, hanging from the tentacle-like appendages he had disguised as his scarf. While he seemed to know the gun was pointed at him, Q wasn't really looking at them. Rather, all seven eyes were focused on a book in his hand.

"Q, we wanna talk." Conner did not lower the gun.

"No one is stopping you ." Q's retort was annoyed at best. "How have you been, Diego? I thought for sure I'd see you again after I injected that little toxin in you, but I'm guessing your roommate took care of that for you ?" Finally Q looked up and Dib immediately wished he hadn't as those beady eyes focused on him, making his stomach churn. "What a good friend you have. Too bad you didn't think the same way about him. If only you had listened to the warnings all around. Then perhaps you would not be in this situation." Q did a little spin in the air as Conner fired at him. The creature floated in the air for a moment before landing gracefully in front of the group. "Rude ."

"Okay let's calm down." Skoodge took a stance in front of Q, his PAK legs out, elevating him to help him look intimidating.

"He tried to shoot me. "

"You were talking shit about my brother." Conner only lowered the gun when Zim used both his hands to forced it down.

"Technically I was talking shit about your companion there. " A delicate, gloved finger pointed to Dib. Conner looked back and forth between the two.

"Oh that's fine then, carry on."

"HEY!"

"What? I'm still mad at you."

"Enough insulting of the Dib!" Zim interjected. "I cannot hear half of the insults and if Dib is getting insulted, I want to laugh."

"You're an ass, Zim."

"You have to be nice because we are helping."

"He's right you know. "

"Shut up!"

"Q," surprisingly, Skoodge managed to calm the room and get everyone back on track. "The ship doctor, was he the traitor?"

"I feel like you all know the answer to that already ." Q cocked his head to one side. "But why would I share my information with you, anyway? You've destroyed my place, threatened me, and shot me within the past week. "

"..." Conner took a deep breath. "We will erase your current criminal record with the Galactic Syndicate in return for your cooperation."

"Okay... " The mouthful of teeth began to rip into a wide smile. "You have my interest. " He relaxed back in the air, crossing his legs as if upon a throne.

"He agreed to help." Dib relayed to the Irkens , unsure if Conner knew they couldn't hear Q. Skoodge nodded, expression serious. "Is the ship Doctor the traitor you sensed." Dib repeated the question, unsure of what answer he wanted. He didn't think Clark was the traitor- but if he was- then that crushed expression on his face wouldn't hurt Dib so much every time he remembered it. Dib would have been completely validated in his actions.

"No ." Q's reply had a sneering tone to it. " The traitor was not the doctor. I can hear his thoughts just fine. But I suppose that is subject to change. Really, I can only confirm that at the time of the crash, the Doctor was not the traitor. But if the traitor can change shape- as many races can- then there is no telling who it is now ."

"He says that the traitor could be different now. But... at the time of the accident, it wasn't my brother."

"I can pretty much assure you it still isn't your brother." Skoodge patted Conner on the hand still holding the gun. "But, if Q is offering, I'm sure we can bring him along when we make our case. That way, we know how many people are being controlled, and who they are."

"I am not sure I was really offering . " The seven eyes narrowed.

"He says he will be thrilled to accompany us!" Dib clapped his hands together loudly. "He loves the idea. Can't be more excited."

"You son of a- "

" Excellent !" Skoodge must have known Dib was lying but it was far easier to assume he was telling the truth. "Then you should probably think about taking a less... attention grabbing form." Skoodge looked the Parasite up and down, from its humanoid figure to its completely alien facial structure. Dib knew the people within whom Q had gotten his toxic tendrils would probably not notice his complete mockery of the human form but he hoped most of the people in the city would find him to be out of place. Q looked a tad annoyed. "You can shapeshift. I've seen your kind do it before."

"This is true. " The human form began to crumble and crack- Dib could hear every sound as the skeleton underneath rearranged, shrinking and warping until Q had turned himself into a cat. At least... Dib assumed it was supposed to be a cat. Again, it looked feline, but as seven eyes stared up at Dib and four red-tipped tails swished, he took a step back. On its back looked like a cut or scar of some kind, with spiderlike, jagged edges slicing through the otherwise perfectly white fur. It occurred to Dib, that he had never really seen Q from the back before now.

"Have you ever seen a cat? Because it's not that." Dib didn't want to get any closer. This looked like a monstrosity that crawled out of one of his nightmares. The four tails twitched and seemed to try to combine themselves only to tear apart once again.

"Let me try again. " The tails joined back into one as the eyes shifted, the two eyes now correctly centered on the face had somehow been flipped vertically as the other eyes traveled down the midsection, onto the legs. Every so often one would blink at him and the single red tipped tail would split back into four again.

"That's worse." Dib confirmed.

"Is your shapeshifting not working...?" Skoodge looked vaguely surprised. Q stretched himself out, mimicking a cat's behavior perfectly making the blinking eyes hiding in the fur of the chest and legs all the more unsettling. Q finally turned so Dib could see the origin of those hairline veins of red that interrupted the seamless white of the Parasite's coat. Dib could see now it was definitely some sort of scar, originating right at the base of his spine. "You're injured..." The Invader looked vaguely surprised by the reveal. Dib hated to think what a Parasite was like at full power if this was supposed to be one that was nursing a (what looked to be pretty nasty) wound.

"Yes, I received damage from the tall, red Irken in battle many years ago. The weapon he used was one I had not seen before and was quite effective against me ." Before Dib could translate the story to the Irkens, Zim spoke up.

"You were the Parasite that Tallest Red and I fought in our Elite days!" Zim looked ecstatic. " Zim invented the weapon he used! It did some real damage." He looked genuinely impressed, sizing up the injury with interest.

"He became Tallest, did he? Joy ."

"The cat should work; we'll just have Dib carry you so you'll be less noticeable ." Skoodge tried very quickly to cut the conversation off. The last thing they needed was for Q to decide to not help them due to the apparent history he had with Zim (and one of the Tallest? It was weird, Dib had not thought the Tallest engaged in combat. They seemed content in the lap of luxury on the Massive, far removed from the actual work of conquest).

"I don't want to carry him! He tried to eat me!"

"You heard the Irken : Carry me ~" Q cooed as he jumped from the floor straight to Dib's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek tauntingly. Dib picked the creature up by its scruff and threw it as far as he could away from him. Q flailed for a moment in the air before stopping his momentum and floating right back onto Dib's shoulder. "If you want my help, you have to be nice. " He was slapped in the face by all four tails and one paw.

"Dib don't throw our key witness." Skoodge remarked dryly.

"See? "

"So now we have everyone, right? We can go help Clark?" Conner looked at the Irkens , anxiously. "We have enough evidence to save him?"

"I think we can make our case." Skoodge confirmed. "Good we'll head to the base; I assume you know where to go." Skoodge looked at Conner who nodded, determination in his eyes.

"Yeah it's at the campus. Dib, you know where it is." Conner began to rush out of the apartment with Dib close behind.

"I call the front seat! "

"I am sitting in the front!" Zim called, unaware that Q had already made claim to the territory.

"Too late, Q already called it." Conner pointed out before Dib could even respond. Personally, Dib would rather have had Zim than Q. However, he also didn't want to make Q mad- Skoodge was right: he was a crucial witness in Clark's rescue. Fortunately, it seemed that one of the few things Zim respected on Earth was the rules of the front seat.

"Monthra damn it."