Skoodge and Zim sat on the couch, watching some detective show that CB was forcing them to enjoy (it was hard to argue with him since he was the house AI). CB's hologram was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with GIR on the other side. The defective SIR unit didn't have too much preference on TV as long as it was loud. "I don't see why the human filth aren't just going into this pig-scum's brain to figure out if he is lying." It was apparent Zim, despite his time on Earth, still didn't quite understand humans. (Or, he understood them perfectly, but their assumed shortcomings frustrated him.)
"Humans cannot do that to each other. At least not legally." CB retorted, sounding a little annoyed by the interruption. Skoodge watched with mild interest as the human authorities were questioning the thief from earlier in the episode.
"Seems inefficient." He remarked, tilting his head to the side.
"That is because humans are so inferior."
"I feel like that Professor Membrane guy in all the papers has invented something to draw out thoughts from a human brain." Skoodge had enjoyed his research into Earth's scientific advancements and the name: 'Membrane' had been a constant.
"Probably. I've met him, you know." Zim seemed rather proud of this fact. "That is the Dib-smelly's creator."
"Ah yes, you mentioned he was a clone." It felt nice to just take a moment to relax, watching mindless human television and NOT think about the war that loomed in the near future. As mundane as it was, Skoodge felt this break was well deserved. Just two Irkens with their defunct Control Brain and SIR unit watching something with no educational value.
"Which one of these guys is the magic moose man?" GIR looked over to CB.
"I think it is the one in the hat." Zim squinted at the screen.
"Neither of them. There is no magic moose man. That was the movie that we watched yesterday." CB sighed heavily.
"It could be a sequel." Skoodge suggested, more as a way to annoy CB, than as an actual suggestion. GIR latched onto the idea.
"IT'S A SEQUEAL! THEY'RE ALLLLL THE MOOSE-MEN!"
"Oh for Mothra's sake." CB's hologram flopped dramatically, yet soundlessly, onto the floor. It was a little funny to observe his behavior now that Skoodge knew what CB really was. He could not fathom one of the Control Brains back on Irk lying on the floor because they were frustrated by a SIR's misunderstanding of modern media. The Control Brains were rather cryptic. They did not speak much, unless spoken to, and what they did say was very to-the-point and blunt. There were slight variances in their personalities, but not much.
RING.
Zim glanced down at the human cell phone as it began playing some obnoxious melody at full volume, (Skoodge was beginning to get suspicious that Zim did not hear very well, which was why everything was so loud) his antenna lifted, sensing the vibration. "Oh. We were just speaking about the human worm and he contacts us."
"Dib is calling." CB announced helpfully.
"Yes, thank you. We already could see that." Skoodge replied dryly as Zim finally answered the phone, putting it on speaker.
"What do you want?" Zim had made this a customary greeting for Dib.
"Wow… hi…" the voice on the other end sounded offended.
"DID YOU GET MY TACOS!?"
"Hello GIR." Dib ignored the question but at least gave the robot some acknowledgement. "Hey, do you guys think you can come by the school?"
"Why?" Skoodge raised a quizzical antenna.
"Being honest, Zim feels as if it is best to wait for things to blow over. The Syndicate are trapped on Earth anyway. If we wait long enough they might just die."
"Yeah… I don't think that's gonna work." Dib sounded rather skeptical. "You guys should really come down here…"
"But we were watching TV." CB protested, now sitting up to look at the phone.
"CB, you if anyone, understands why they need to get down here." Dib shot back instantly. "You're literally watching it with me."
"This is true." The Control Brain admitted once put under the spotlight. "It is pretty important that you should go. I was going to tell you about it earlier but it was my night to pick what we all watched and I did not want to miss it."
"Fine fine." Zim jumped up, "Zim will grace your puny human education building with his glorious presence! CB you are in charge of the house!"
"I am the house."
"GIR!" Zim continued unabashed, " Try not to break anything while we are away and stay alert for further instruction!"
"YES MY MASTER!" The SIR's eyes went red and he saluted as the two Irkens donned their new disguises and headed toward the door. As they reached the driveway, before the door closed, Skoodge could see the SIR's eyes had returned to blue and he was making a run for the kitchen with CB chasing after him in an attempt to stop whatever disaster was on the verge of occurring.
"I'll drive." While Zim had used his ship to spawn a home base, Skoodge had changed the appearance of his own to resemble a human car. Prior to this Zim had walked or taken the voot cruiser most places- this seemed easier. Also Skoodge had taken the time to upload every driving manual he could find into his PAK so he had deemed himself a pretty good driver.
"Very well. Zim will use the time not driving to formulate a plan." Zim hopped into the passenger's seat, immediately going to look out of the window as Skoodge started the car/ship. "The Dib human must have found something interesting to call us to him- but since he is stupid it is probably nothing important."
"He's been useful lately. He did lead us to the Syndicate Rangers." Skoodge was a little more willing to give Dib credit. He was obnoxious, sure but he had been key to unveiling a possible plot for high treason from a highly ranked invader.
"He has some use for the Irken Empire. Once everything is settled and I am back in the good graces of our Tallest, I may convince them to NOT destroy ALL of Earth." Zim was still in denial about his banishment and the realization made Skoodge's cardiac spooch drop a little. "The Membranes can be put in our science department."
"I don't think Dib will enjoy that." Skoodge remarked, having seen the human's opinions on an alien takeover from the Syndicate misunderstanding.
"He'll get over it." Zim shrugged.
There was a bit of silence as Skoodge pulled up the geographical data in his PAK and flawlessly navigated them toward the campus. As they drew close, both Irkens immediately sensed the issue at hand. There were several people running around, all dressed in human disguises complete with matching black suits. The campus had gained quite a number of inhuman visitors. He could see them talking with the actual humans, able to blend in surprisingly well with the natives. Syndicate disguise technology was different than the Irken version, but it was effective.
"This place is swarming with Syndicate scum." Zim made a face. "Where is that filthy human companion of mine? How did he let this happen?"
"Over there!" Skoodge parked the car as he saw Dib and Clark engaged in some sort of conversation outside of the building that Skoodge knew housed the secret Syndicate base. It seemed Clark had just let the persona drop entirely and was wearing the medic uniform they had seen on him in the court room. The high collar, black, military, long sleeved shirt with red accents and the emblem for his position on one arm and the Syndicate on the other.
"So… who exactly do you work for?" One of the human teachers was talking with a Syndicate woman in a suit in front of where Skoodge had parked. He and Zim could hear the two talking as they exited the car.
"The government." The Ranger replied with a smile.
"Which department?" The teacher looked around her in confusion.
"Department of Education. We want to check on the education here. Make sure it is up to code." The human took in the response with a serious nod.
"Yes, all right that makes sense."
"Over here!" Dib interrupted Skoodge's eavesdropping as he waved him over. As the two walked forward, they could see each of the Syndicate infiltrators turn to look at them. One by one their heads snapped in the direction of the Irkens.
"Oh, it's cool, these are the guys who helped us." Clark quickly waved to his fellows and they reluctantly returned to what they were doing.
"I thought you guys would want to see this." Dib gestured around him. "A few showed up yesterday and now they just keep coming."
"They're from a nearby allied planet. Capitol Planet is still too far out to send anyone, officially, but ever since we caught the Invader, our communications have gone back online." Clark explained not seemingly caring about any actual humans that might overhear him.
"I thought you would just leave after this was all said and done." Skoodge admitted.
"This is far from done. But please, come inside. The Captain wants to speak with y'all." Clark gestured for the Irkens to follow him back inside the building that housed the base.
"I thought the accent was fake…" Skoodge had to admit he had assumed it was a part of the persona, given his alleged Texas origins.
"I mean it kinda was but after two years of doing it I'm stuck." Clark laughed. He lead the group back into that little closet off to the side of the busy student building. They waited till not many were looking and went inside. "Disguises off please." Skoodge and Zim both gave heavy sighs but obediently turned off their disguises, as to be polite.
"Why don't you ever take yours off?" Dib looked curiously at his roommate.
"That's not a disguise." Zim interjected before Clark could answer. "He's actually that ugly."
"Afraid so." Clark ignored the insult as he went through the security measures to start the secret elevator into the Syndicate lair down below. "I'm glad you two decided to stop by. The prisoner has been cooperative, but we are decently sure she has no memory of the incident in question so now we are discussing next steps."
"Did you guys kill Tenn?" Zim looked appalled.
"W-what?" Clark looked equally surprised. "N… no she's fine. She's just in a holding cell till we can get everything figured out. W… where did you even get that idea."
"It just seemed like a good chance for revenge." Zim shrugged. "But if you don't want to kill her that's better for her." Clark looked over at Skoodge who simply shook his head. Zim had probably gotten the idea from one of CB's movies, honestly.
"Why did you contact us through the human? Why are you gathering on Earth? This is all getting a little out of hand, isn't it? I thought the Syndicate didn't like to involve themselves in primitive planets?" Skoodge pushed Zim's comment aside in favor of getting more answers. Seeing such an influx of Syndicate was more than just a little alarming.
"Well Dib's the only one with your number." Clark admitted.
"And," Dib quickly cut in, "the Captain has me working as a human-Syndicate liaison. She says she likes my intelligence and persistence."
"So you wouldn't stop asking until she gave you a job?" Zim raised his antenna, knowingly,
"No-"
"That is correct." The voice replied from Dib's pocket, cutting off his denial. Zim's eyes narrowed, his antennae lying straight back.
"Mothra damn it! Are you still living in his phone!? You are supposed to be grounded for quintuple forever, CB!"
"I cannot leave. The human needs me. We are best friends."
"We are not best friends." Dib corrected instantly.
"I think we're here." Skoodge spoke up. During the bouts of arguing and banal conversation, they had actually crossed the entirety of the long hallway to the central courtroom. Clark had even opened the door, but everyone was too engaged in their arguments to notice.
"Navigators Skoodge and Zim." The Captain was sitting in the middle of the room in a floating chair. The layout was now entirely different. The looming desks were replaced with one floating chair and floating holographic maps and charts that the Captain was rapidly sifting through, seemingly in search of something important. Conner stood on one side of her, seemingly replacing Ron who had previously been her right hand. "I'm pleased you were able to come on such short notice." She made a sweeping motion with her arms and the screens parted giving her a better view of the two Irkens before her. "I will be honest, things are not looking good."
"There are more Syndicate than we were expecting." Skoodge stood before the others. Dealing with high ranking officials of other Empires was a delicate process, he did not think Zim was ready for that sort of pressure.
"Help from a nearby planet." She waved her hand dismissively. "While the traitor was still in our midst we had no contact with our allies. Now our communications are back online but we are still far away from our main territory so we got who we could get. This is all simple interrogation. Earth is a good, neutral ground for us to use to figure out what exactly is happening between the Empire and the Syndicate."
"You don't feel like this many Syndicate Rangers comes across as threatening?" Skoodge gestured above him to where at least twelve different alien species in black suits were questioning the humans and, presumably, combing through the planet for clues.
"Having an Irken Invader posing as a Syndicate First Officer and stealing a weapon on its way for analysis is threatening, Mister Skoodge. This is simply a way to stand our ground."
"Then why bring us here? Unless you are going to imprison us too? NO ONE IMPRISON'S ZIM!" The shorter Irken bared his teeth aggressively but Skoodge held him back.
"Calm down, Mister Zim." The Captain rubbed the bridge of her nose. "After your help with finding the traitor we consider you both allies. We have no intention of locking you away. We simply brought you here to discuss our next course of action."
"Which is…?" Skoodge did not like where this was going.
"We need to speak with your Tallest. We had Miss Tenn attempt to contact them, however, her communication lines have been cut similar to the way our were prior to her capture." Skoodge and Zim's eyes both widened. It was possible that, like Zim, Tenn had been severed from the Collective. Such a severe punishment being dished out to two different Irkens so closely together was unheard of. Disconnection in general had allegedly not been used since Tallest Miyuki outlawed the punishment when she had first risen to power.
"The Tallest are busy. They don't exactly answer every call." Zim was faltering a bit, Skoodge could tell the reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.
"I am aware, but we are on the brink of an Intergalactic war, Mister Zim. Surely they can find the time to answer our call." The Captain's large blue eyes had narrowed.
"I can try," Skoodge spoke up. "They might answer me." If Zim and Tenn were cut from the Collective, then their calls would probably not even go through. However, Skoodge- despite his size- was an Invader with a respectable record. The Captain nodded.
"Go ahead," She gestured him forward and a panel rose out of the floor. Skoodge hooked his PAK into the panel, sending out a call to the Massive. It went through, but was immediately rejected. Undeterred, he tried again.
Again, he was rejected.
"You're being screened," Zim whispered not-so-quietly to his companion.
"So it would seem." Skoodge frowned. The rejection was quick, even more quick than usual. The Tallest would have had to be at the consol in question to ignore him instantly. It wasn't impossible, but as the Tallest liked to stay on the main deck and have the navigators answer calls- it was unlikely they had the time to ask the Tallest what to do with the call before it was rejected.
It was a bit odd.
"No luck for you guys either. We had the same response and Miss Tenn could not even get through." Conner noted seeing the screen instantly shut off.
"That can't be good." Clark frowned.
"Maybe they know they're caught." Dib looked contemplative. "Looks like they're screening your calls at least."
"Or the calls are being screened." Zim was looking surprisingly focused. "This does not make sense. Our Tallest are very busy, yes, but they would have answered at least one of the calls if they kept coming from the same planet. There has to be something breaking the connection. Our only solution is to go to the Massive and ask."
"I- no. Zim no. That is a terrible idea." Skoodge knew his companion was not thinking straight and his desperation to see other Irkens had to be intense, however, going to the Massive seemed like the last thing they needed to do.
"Could you get us the coordinates to your Massive?" The Captain seemed to actually be considering the terrible plan and Skoodge found his cardiac spooch to be racing.
"Of course!" Zim's antennae wiggle proudly. "Zim always keeps an eye on the massive! Zim is very creepy like that!"
"Hey!That is creepy…" Conner noted a tad concerned, but the Captain seemed willing to ignore Zim's obsessively stalker-ish behavior.
"Then that will be our back up plan. If we cannot get in touch with your Tallest before a proper ship is supplied, we will be flying out to the Massive."
