"Well this is all just great." Skoodge and Zim sat at the little table in Zim's kitchen, both looking more exhausted than anything else.

"Do you think the Syndicate will release Tenn anytime soon?" Zim pulled off the wig and deactivated the holographic elements of his improved disguise. The contacts were itchy and he had had a very long day- he was ready to just be Irken again.

"Probably not. But being on the brink of war, you can't blame the Syndicate for keeping her." Skoodge was always better at seeing things logically. He could go so far as to overanalyze if given enough time, so Zim figured he would cut him off.

"The Tallest would never have ordered this." He had to be firm.

"We don't know if they did or not. It doesn't look like they did... at least not directly." It was hard to tell what to believe. "The data suggests that Red and Purple wanted Tenn to be an Instructor- not a spy for the Syndicate."

" Red would not have ordered an attack like that." He was a little more specific this time. "He takes the military aspect of his job seriously."

"There's no telling for sure one way or the other." Despite being disconnected from the hive, Zim still held his Tallest in the highest regard. Respect for the Tallest was ingrained into him. Plus, he knew the Tallest; they both did.

"Red and Purple mentioned unrest..." Zim was clearly trying to make sense of the crazy situation at hand. "Do you know about anything like that?"

"I can think of a few reasons Irkens might be unhappy." Skoodge answered a little too quickly for Zim's liking. "But as for specifics..." he shrugged. "I haven't been to Irk the Planet in a long time. I have no idea what is going on."

"We could go back over the data from Tenn's PAK, maybe there is something in there?" Zim looked thoughtful for a moment. "CB, do you still have the feed?"

"Why would CB have that?" Skoodge lifted one of his antennae .

" I record the live feed from the Master's ocular implants for later study ."

"Study for Zim ? Or study for you?" Skoodge's eyes narrowed slightly as CB's holographic form shimmered into view, sitting at the table alongside his Irken comrades (he had even brought his own chair). It was a valid question given how much CB seemed to like to do things on his own.

" Irrelevant ."

"I feel like it is pretty relevant."

"CB play back the data from Tenn's PAK." Zim ignored the conflict in favor of progressing the investigation (and possibly clear the names of the Tallest).

" Where would you like me to begin? "

"How about when she arrived on Irk?" Zim stood up. "We can analyze the Irkens in the background. Faded or not, her memories should be detailed enough from her Invader training that we might be able to notice something in the crowd. If something is happening on Irk, Tenn would have taken note; even if it was just subconsciously ."

"I'm impressed." Skoodge stood as well as CB activated the multitude of cameras that Zim had installed throughout the house, creating a three-dimensional hologram of the streets of Upper Irk for the Irkens to explore.

" Of course you are, Zim is impressive." Zim walked behind Tenn as the hologram played out. The memories were technically from her perspective so CB had made a little make-shift Tenn to stand in her place and help orient the Invaders while the memories were in motion. The stand-in Tenn was a little creepy with vacant expressions and robotic movements (it seemed CB wasn't particularly good at making convincing illusions on the spot).

All around them, Irken s were going about their everyday lives. Many took notice of Tenn , whispering excitedly to one another and wiggling their antennae in excitement. Nothing was amiss. These were all very Irken responses.

"It's nice to be home..." Skoodge commented as he followed Zim through the crowd. "Your hologram technology has improved. Given what you must have had on your cruiser, this is quite impressive." Zim was examining a group of younger Irkens buying a balloon in the background.

"I made some of my own improvements."

"You were always good with technology. But why not ever try to fix your SIR?" Skoodge asked. Zim had given GIR a menial task shortly before arriving and it would be a bit before he grew bored of whatever destruction he could cause from his simple orders- so he anticipated GIR would not be back for a little while longer.

"I tried. Exactly one time. It did not go well." Zim shuddered at the memory. "Idiot robot is better off the way he is. I thought when I made CB things would get better. He could keep an eye on GIR, keep him occupied."

" But I do not like doing that. GIR is destructive and loud, and he changes the channel when I am watching TV. "

"Keeping an eye on GIR is a part of your job ," Zim retorted to the hologram of CB standing idly off to the side, "you don't have to like it."

" Yeah but I do not like it ."

"Hey Skoodge , look at this." Zim ignored his frustratingly obstinate robot in order better examine a group of young Irkens , easily around their Academy years, looking at a newspaper. There was news, back on Irk. There were papers and news stations, similar to what Zim had seen on Earth but the news was more or less a way for Irkens with non- military jobs to keep up with the glory of the Tallest and the successes of Impending Doom II. But this paper did not look to be one of the major publications Zim remembered. In fact, it was a little odd to see it in print rather than electronically downloaded onto one of the Irken's reading devices (a flat screen which could access any of Irk's major literary publications). The title of the article had really been what caught Zim's eye: " The All Mighty Tallest: Irk's Greatest Deception? ", Zim read the title aloud with disgust in his voice. How could any self-respecting Irken print this filth?

"Is that a new Zeke article ?" Skoodge's antennae perked up and he scurried over.

"Zeke? Who is this Zeke? He sounds stupid."

"No one really knows." Skoodge gave a dismissive shrug. "Some Irkens think he's a defect that hides away in the shadows; others say he's a group of Irkens trying to cause trouble; I don't have much of an opinion on him- but the stuff he writes is interesting."

"How do we not know who this is? We're Irken ." This must have been the cause of that unrest Tallest Red had mentioned. Zim couldn't read the text in the article (mostly because Tenn had not seen it) but he was sure it was stupid. "If he's publishing news things then he is an Irken coded for media. Just go through the databanks and find him."

"You... do realize how common the name Zeke is on Irk... right?" Skoodge gave him a rather flat reply. "Plus, he might not be coded for media. He publishes these written pieces and they just spread around overnight. Since it isn't through our publishing branch, we don't actually know who is making them. I like the mystery of it."

"You're an Invader, you're not supposed to like mystery!" Zim huffed.

"Look, unless Zeke got a lot more clout in the time I've been away, I doubt he's a big enough issue that the Tallest would need to assign Tenn to Irk." Skoodge seemed confident in this, and Zim had not been back to the planet-proper since almost destroying it, so he would just have to trust his fellow Invader on this matter.

"CB, continue." Zim snapped his fingers.

" Would it kill either of you to say please? " The memory continued despite the AI's obvious irritation. There was not a lot more to see on the streets, but Zim let it play out into the Academy part- just to see his old alma mater one more time.

"I can't believe Sig is still working here." Skoodge actually laughed as they reached the point where Sig ran off to lecture two Rising Elites. "I liked him; he was tough but fair."

"I thought he was just tough." Zim had gotten many demerits from Sig during his school days for 'reckless endangerment', or 'destroying school property', or 'completely missing the purpose of the exercise'.

"That is because you never listened in class and then just arbitrarily decided what we were going to do on the training field." Skoodge rubbed his forehead as if the memory alone was giving him a headache. "And somehow you would always talk me into helping you out."

"Oh yes. Zim recalls fearlessly leading you into many victories!"

"Victories is a strong word for it." Skoodge muttered under his breath.

"You were very fortunate to spend all your school time in the presence of ZIM!" Zim continued proudly, unphased by Skoodge's comment (he was pretending not to have heard him). "You must have recognized my genius; you always hung around, after all."

"Well yeah ," Skoodge gave him a dumbfounded look. "We were bunkmates , Zim . I lived with you throughout all of our Elite Training."

"Oh yeah..." It had honestly slipped his mind. Though, suddenly it made a lot more sense why Skoodge was constantly hanging around in all of Zim's memories. To be fair, Zim had not thought about his school years in some time .

"I'm not even surprised." Skoodge let out a long sigh. "You had other things on your mind back then. At least you remembered I was there... I guess." Zim blinked. Had he offended Skoodge ? The robust Invader was no longer looking at him, his antennae drooping slightly.

"Are you upset?"

"No... not really." Skoodge was trying to avoid the topic, but Zim could tell.

"If it helps, I know you are here now. School was so long ago; it is all kind of a blur anyway. I've been recoded twice since then so my memories can get a bit scrambled..." He didn't like seeing Skoodge upset. He was the only Irken Zim had seen face to face since his banishment. He didn't want to say something that would make Skoodge leave.

"Yeah..." Skoodge actually smiled, just a bit. "It does help, actually."

"And with two elite Invaders on the case- nothing will get by- SWEET FUCKING MOTHRA !" Zim jumped straight up in the air, PAK legs catching him as he had the unfortunate luck to turn and be face to lack-of-face with the Glitched Irken from Tenn's memory.

"I never wanted to be that close to this... abomination of an Irken ." Skoodge took a visible step back as Zim lowered himself back to the floor. "I can't figure out what happened to her PAK. Her memories are so far in the past and this... the sound and image is completely distorted... it's not natural."

" It is corrupted ." The hologram fizzled out leaving Zim and Skoodge back in the kitchen with the hologram of CB.

"What?" Skoodge looked back at the computer in question.

" The data in her PAK. It was corrupted. I had to remove a few lines of coding to -"

"CB, maybe now is not the time." Zim tried his best to cut off his creation but Skoodge was smart. He had already latched on to the key words hiding in CB's simple sentence.

" You removed coding? How? What were you even doing in her PAK?" Skoodge had completely lost interest in Zim , turning gaze into the large, blue, central lens on CB's helmet.

"Calm down, Skoodge ." Zim reached into his own PAK to pull out the electrified, two-pronged blade he had used in the fight. "The weapon I invented allowed CB to travel into her PAK when I stabbed it. Nothing to get jumpy about, this is just impressive inventing." Even if Skoodge was a little on edge, surely, he would be distracted by the brilliance of Zim's new weapon. Skoodge looked over the sparking blade with skepticism in his expression. He kept looking back to CB as if expecting the hologram to turn into a Meekrob and try to attack them.

"That's a nice weapon- but it doesn't explain how a security program would know how to alter or delete code from an Irken's PAK ." He looked up, this time at Zim , those crimson, oval eyes narrowing as Zim could see Skoodge starting to put pieces of a puzzle together.

" I was trying to help ." Now it was CB's turn to get a little uneasy.

" Zim , why is it that your security program knows PAK coding?" Skoodge leaned in a little closer. Zim didn't like the angry calm of his voice.

"I know where you're going with this but-"

"CB doesn't stand for Computer Base."

" Skoodge if you will listen-"

"Does it?"

"There are extenuating circumstances-"

" Does it !?" Skoodge was directly in Zim's face now and the slightly shorter Irken found himself backing up into the table.

"Skoodge-"

"What does CB stand for Zim !?" As Skoodge made a move to follow Zim , the pink lights in his PAK suddenly surged turning a bright blue. Skoodge's whole body sized up and froze as his PAK was taken over completely.

" You are scaring my master ." CB re-materialized beside Zim looking over his creator with what Zim assumed was concern (CB was hard to read since he did not have antennae). " Scans indicate that you are not injured. "

"Let him go CB, you're just giving him reason to be more upset." Zim was trying his best to de-escalate the situation. But, Skoodge had every reason to be mad.

" He yelled at you ."

"Lots of people yell at me; you've never gotten upset before."

" Yes, but he was upsetting you for real. "

"Release him CB." Zim had to be firm.

" Only if Skoodge promises not to upset the master ." CB was looking at the frozen form of Skoodge who (most likely) was listening to every word with rising anger. There was a moment of silence before the PAK lights switched back to pink and Skoodge face-planted on the ground before Zim . He stood, very slowly; brushing himself off and letting out a cough, he looked back at Zim and the hologram beside him.

" Zim , what does CB stand for?" He was so calm, but Zim could tell that inwardly he was seething. CB's little power display probably did nothing for Skoodge's opinion on the situation.

"..." Zim inhaled deeply. "Control Brain."

" Zim that's fucking insane; you realize that don't you!?" Skoodge was livid, but he was not getting close to Zim this time. Zim could see it though, in the way his antennae laid straight back and how he bared his teeth when he yelled.

"I was desperate!" Zim was not going to be accused of being crazy without any chance to explain his rational. "You have never been disconnected from the Collective before! You have no idea how lonely it is to be completely isolated from our people on a planet that, quite frankly, sucks!" Zim's outburst seemed to surprise Skoodge because he backed off a bit.

"I know you're hurting but..." He was speaking more calmly now, seemingly genuine in his concern. "Zim, you realize how taboo this is, don't you? Our PAKs are our identities. Only the Control Brains under order of our Tallest can access our core memories. The amount of time and energy that our entire planet must put into properly constructing a Control Brain is so immense that even as a top Invader I have no idea how it is done."

"It's extreme... yes... but you shouldn't be mad. You should be impressed that I was so successful." Zim tried to find a positive to distract Skoodge from the overwhelming creepiness of Zim trying to make his own mini-Irk in his base. "Once he learns enough, he might even be able to re-code me as an Invader! He's a little too new right now."

"Is that what this is building toward?" Skoodge had eased off a little. It seemed after hearing Zim mention the crippling loneliness of his banishment, that Skoodge sympathized. "You can't just jury-rig a Control Brain out of tech you have on hand and expect it to function ."

" Wow. Rude. I function just fine ." CB crossed his arms, huffing.

"I mean, no human computer is advanced enough to even run smoothly when combined with our superior Artificial Intelligence techn -" Skoodge cut off mid-sentence as the realization hit. His research into the rather "rough" history of the humans and their relationship with technology finally reaching its payoff as he turned slowly to look at Zim . "There's one ... but... Zim ... you didn't ."

Zim actually didn't have time to answer (which was, honestly, for the best as Skoodge would not have liked what was said) as CB seemed to have enough of the accusations being thrown about himself. " Before you keep treating me like a monster why not let me explain my actions in regards to my interference in the Irken Invader's PAK ."

Skoodge kept his distance, eyeing the hologram distrustfully. "Go on."

" It is true that I deleted some code. However, I did not tamper with the memory banks. All I did was delete something that was in her PAK that was actively corrupting data ." Zim blinked. This was certainly the first he had heard about any of this. CB must have noticed his reaction because he immediately turned to Zim , adding: " I was planning on telling you what I had done when we were alone next. However, since Mister Skoodge wanted to make accusations I needed to step in. When I first shut down her PAK I noted something, akin to a virus, starting to go through her PAK and corrupt all the data it could find. The only bit of code I deleted was in an attempt to stop the progress of that corruption. In short: I was not trying to harm Tenn. I was trying to save her. " It made sense. The missing memories, the glitchy ending of Tenn's adventure back on the planet's surface. It seemed like something had been corrupting Tenn's PAK.

"Why should I believe you!?" Skoodge was clearly on edge, despite CB's explanation .

" You saw the corruption for yourself ." CB moved his hands and the glitching, faceless Irken materialized before him. Skoodge and Zim both stepped back, uncomfortable as they had to look at something so uncanny. CB sighed, letting the hologram dissipate. " Let me try to explain better. " The graphic reformed into a giant yellow circle with a mouth and several dots in front of it. " This, " he gestured to the circle, " is the Virus. And these " he gestured to the dots, " are vital bits of Tenn's memory. " He snapped and the yellow circle began eating the dots. " So, I had so come in, " a little light, blue ghost shape descended on the circle, " and stop it. " The ghost connected and the circle spun around and wilted, disintegrating into nothingness. " So you see, I was helping. "

"The visual aids helped." Zim had to admit, seeing it made it a little easier to follow. Still, the very idea that someone would infect a PAK was so foreign to him. It was disturbing.

"It was Pacman." Skoodge replied after a bit more silence.

"Eh?" Zim glanced over.

"Pacman."

" No I think it's a metaphor ."

" It's both ."

"You didn't think I would know what Pacman was, but I do." Skoodge looked very pleased with himself. "And that was Pacman."

" Fine, I will make a note that Invader Skoodge knows what Pacman is ."

"Thank you."

" But did the visual aid help ?"

"It wasn't that I didn't understand... I mean... it's fucking disturbing to even think about- but I understood the concept. It's just that you can't prove that you didn't do all that to her." Skoodge was not letting up off of CB. Zim had to intervene.

"He wouldn't. He's Irken ." Zim had made CB, pieced together his mainframe, worked tirelessly on his coding; CB was his .

"He's partially Irken , at best." Skoodge's tone indicated he was missing the point.

"I constructed CB myself. I would know if he was capable of something like that!"

"Is he?"

" Yes. "

" Mothra damn it , you are not helping your case." Zim whirled around to face his security program, glaring at him, indignantly.

" Lying would not help either ." He hated to admit that CB had a point. Skoodge had indicated on more than one occasion he was good at seeing through deception. " But I would not do something so invasive. You have the capability to end this primitive planet. But you would not do so. Capability is not a motive ."

"He's right." Zim was proud to see all the hours of coding going into something more than dry insults and weird Lifetime movies. "He doesn't have a motive. Why would my security program-"

"Control Brain." Skoodge corrected him quickly.

"Yes. Fine. Whatever." Zim made a motion as if rolling his eyes. "Why would CB, who I made, want to cover up Tenn's memories. He literally never met her until we were in that trial room. What possible reason could he have to delete her memory? Unless you think I'm the one trying to attack the Galactic Syndicate and start a war. Which isn't true because that plan is terrible."

"No... even you wouldn't do something so stupid as to cause an intergalactic war." Skoodge had been quiet, mulling over the details laid out before him in silence. It was clear he was not a fan of CB or his... admittedly rocky origins.

"Hey!" Zim protested, a little offended by the implication.

"I suppose CB doesn't actually have a motive, now that I think about it. I'm going to trust you on this, Zim, but I'm wary..." Skoodge finally relaxed, his antennae lifting back up into a neutral position.

" Thank you ." CB also relaxed (though it was more for show as he wasn't I the room so much as he was the room). " I appreciate it ."

"But you're not off the hook yet." Skoodge looked back to Zim . " Making a Control Brain is just... it's weird Zim. "

"I made a Control Brain, but better ." Zim felt the need to specify. Skoodge raised one antenna uncertainly as he gave the hologram a onceover.

"I... feel like that is strongly a matter of opinion." Skoodge replied at last.

" Shut your dumb, stupid mouth. I am a delight ."

"CB!" Zim whirled back around. "That's it you are grounded for Quintuple Forever. Go to your room."

" But Creator, I -"

"Now!" Zim folded his arms. CB let out a loud groan, that lasted the entirety of the time it took for his hologram to float out of the room and into the elevator. Zim could still vaguely hear it as the platform descended into the lower labs.

"Where's his room?" Skoodge looked a bit confused.

"I don't actually know." Zim sat back at the table. Skoodge just sighed, sitting back in the little chair across from Zim , his head in his hands.

"So if your AI didn't cause the damage to Tenn's PAK, we're kind of at square one."

"Not entirely." Zim put a hand on Skoodge's shoulder. "We know something put a virus in Tenn's PAK in order to mass-delete her memories."

" Thanks Zim ." Skoodge heaved a heavy sigh. "That makes me feel a ton better."


Wooo the origins of CB! I hope you all enjoyed learning about the truth behind his name! While we are discussing origins: is there something you guys would like to see explored more in the fanfic? Be it a bit of Irken lore, or a character's origin? Please let me know in the comments!