"I hope everything is okay with Zim..." Dib was ushered back to the Syndicate base by the Captain and was currently in his lab. It was a lab Captain Rose had given to him, though it was honestly not as nice as the one from his parents- it was at least close by.

"Don't worry, if there is one thing your mother and I know how to do, it's hold a military coup."

"Dad, what the fuck?" Dib's father had a unique way of making Dib feel simultaneously better and worse. Ever since the secret had come out about his parents knowing full well about the existence of aliens, the Membranes had been working under commission of the Syndicate to improve their weapons. Honestly, working alongside his dad for an alien government was a longtime dream for the Membrane Clone; it was just a shame that the circumstances that brought it about were a nightmare for Zim.

"Darling please," his stepmother shook her head at his father's comment. Dib thought she was going to laugh it off as some sort of weird joke (his dad had such an odd sense of humor it was always difficult to tell when he was being serious and when he was fucking with people). "I haven't done that in ages. I'm out of practice."

"Nonsense, my love!" His father reached out, taking his stepmom by the hand and pulling her away from her work table, and toward him. "Overthrowing the government is like riding a bicycle, or building a quantum reactor! You never forget." He dipped her back a bit and Dib made a noise of disgust at seeing his parents' romantic little gesture.

"Diego, agra~" his stepmom put a hand to his chest. "You make me want to topple a small city state right now for practice."

"So, you are evil." Dib wasn't sure if this was an inside joke, or his stepmother and father had a really crazy story they had never told him; but either way this was not the time or place for this.

"Evil is a black and white term. I am... adventurous." She pulled away from his father and went back to the table.

"Scientifically dedicated, but morally liberal." His dad added proudly. He put an arm around Dib's shoulders. "And I am so proud to topple a hive-minded swarm of aliens with my son and his friends! Even your sister is helping! Right Gazline?"

"Mm." His sister more or less grunted in response as she picked up the weapon she had been working on and fired it at a training dummy across the lab. The dummy was still standing, but actively sizzling. "Needs more fire power."

"Have you tried firing live-"

"Dad I am not making it fire live cobras with machetes. How would the cobras even hold the machetes!?" Gaz gave a frustrated sigh.

"You fuse the machetes to their tails with DNA splicing. Your mom is an expert on that front." His dad remarked pointedly.

"Holy fuck that actually sounds awesome." Gaz grabbed her tablet and began to design something new."

"So Junior, is your Captain is meeting with her leaders? Did I follow that right?" Moira had gone back to her work; seemingly content to ignore whatever abomination Gaz and Dib's father were bringing to life (though Dib saw her writing something on a notecard she passed to his sister with the word 'machetes' clearly visible).

"Yeah, she needs to contact their High Council, it's like their main branch of government from what I've learned. They are frustratingly bureaucratic." Dib recalled the first time he had seen the High Council and how they had accomplished almost nothing. His hopes were not high.

"Ah yes, the space DMV. Red tape and rules can be frustrating. All these safety measures and questions about ethics. It takes away from scientific progress." His dad shook his head. "It's why I never bother with all of that nonsense. "

"Isn't that... illegal?" Dib turned to look at his dad who had gone back to his own work.

"Haha. Probably." His dad chuckled to himself. Despite the fact that Dib was now certain his dad was certifiable, he had to admit it was nice seeing his whole family together. As a kid? He never thought he would see this day when his father not only took an interest in his hobbies, but proudly joined Dib on an epic quest. Sure, in his original vision it was just his father and himself (occasionally with Gaz tagging along) but despite all the weird quirks his stepmother had- Dib was actually happy to have her along. It was funny, on the brink of an intergalactic war, with Earth in some degree of danger... this was the most like a family Dib had ever felt.

"Ugh, you're so happy. There's nothing to eat." A voice in his head caused Dib to look up, seeing Q hovering in a lighting fixture again, looking annoyed.

"Good. I hope you starve." Dib retorted.

"Rude."

"Bitch."

"Can you not eat positive emotions at all? Or do you just not like them?" Moira asked curiously.

"Don't engage him. He'll just lie." Dib quickly intervened.

"You engaged me first." Q spat back. "And to answer your question: we can eat positive emotions as well, but they aren't as high in energy for us. It takes a lot more positivity to make us full."

"Fascinating. " his dad remarked, fully enthralled by the alien lifeform.

"I know I am." The Parasite stretched out, the scarf-like appendages wrapping around itself.

"You think you'll get invited to their war council?" Gaz looked over at Dib, content to ignore Q.

"I hope so." Dib had seen it last time, but this time it was less certain. "The Chairman is Lor's mom, so I might see if he can get me in to watch."

"And Lor is Clark, right?" His stepmom questioned.

"Yeah, that's his real name." Now that everything was out in the open, his parents were finally on the same page as everyone else.

"Why did he change it? His real name isn't hard to say." Moira blinked. "And his brother is the greenish looking young man, Carrius? Correct?"

"Yes, and he's a Romulan. They are both adopted by the High Council Chairman and a general." Dib was pretty sure that was right, he had always been a little shaky on Lor's family tree.

"Good on you son! Dating a government official's child is a great way to guarantee funding for personal projects! And lax rules on government projects." His dad patted him on the back.

"Dad I don't think that's how it works at all." Dib was cut short by Gaz.

"So, then who the fuck is Derick? He keeps sending emails through the Syndicate Network to me and he sounds like a bitch."

"He's... notthe most welcoming in the Syndicate. He's actually a swarm of aliens called Grorians." Dib had been more than relieved when his family had joined the Science Division and had freed him from having to work constantly with fucking Derick.

"And his name is Derick?" Gaz reiterated.

"Yeah, but be prepared to be told your pronouncing it wrong." Dib sighed.

"I mean to be fair your pronunciation is atrocious."

"Shut up Q, your name is a fucking letter." Dib didn't hesitate for a second.

"Technically, Q is just the closest you can get to pronouncing my name. It isn't my actual name." Those seven eyes stared lazily down at him. "My name is:" and a horrendous screeching sound that seemed to be made up of thousands of cacophonous voices, nearly blinded Dib with pain. "But you can call me Q."

"How would you spell that?" Despite the obvious pain it had caused, his dad seemed genuinely interested.

"You can't spell it. Correctly, at least. We don't have a written alphabet."

"No written language, interesting!" Dib very much wished his father would let the subject drop. Any interaction with Q was enough to put Dib in a bad mood. "How do you send messages then?"

"We don't typically communicate with one another. We're a territorial race. If another Parasite is close enough to be leaving notes, they're too damn close. But if you do want to write something, we can read most languages of creature's we feed on. We learn your language through your thoughts."

"Well, aren't you chatty?" Dib was surprised, to say the least. Q had never been particularly forthcoming with information before. Then again, Dib had never been inclined to ask, since that would mean talking to Q.

"Yes, well, it bothers you. And that brings me both joy and nutrients." The grin bisected his face.

"Cadet Membrane Junior: Please report to the main meeting hall." An announcement cut the conversation (thankfully) short. The only downside of having his family join him in the Syndicate was having to be Membrane Junior, so as not to get confused with his own father. He tried to get the Captain to call him Cadet Dib, but it didn't seem to be sticking.

"Sounds important." Moira commented, typing away on her tablet.

"Right. I will be back later. By mom, dad, Gaz." He gave a half wave. "Um.. Keep up the good work and I'll... Um... be right back."

"Don't tell me what to do." Gaz called after him as he headed out, but Dib noticed she kept working despite her protest. He hurried to the main meeting room, which was getting easier to find the longer he worked with the Syndicate. Lor, Tak, and the Captain were already there.

"Captain Rose!" Dib did his best Syndicate salute. (He was getting better at it).

"Cadet, good to see you." The Captain nodded to him, clipboard in her hands. "We are getting ready to have our meeting with the High Council. Can you check everything before we get started, make sure we're running at maximum efficiency?"

"Yes! Of course!" He was excited to be asked, this meant he could have a chance at watching the exchange. "I have the checklist Derick gave me." The door was immediately kicked in- despite being a sliding door.

"It's. Pronounced. D3R1K!" Carrius somehow must have heard him- despite having been quite a bit away.

"Why did you kick the door!?" Lor looked at his brother in exasperation.

"Dramatic effect." Carrius looked around with contentment. "Aw wait, moms aren't here yet?"

"No. We haven't called them." The Captain seemed remarkably unaffected by any of the chaos around her. "Your..." she looked him up and down with slight judgement in her pale, blue eyes, "dramatic entrance was noted, but over all a waste."

"Stop. Kicking. Doors." Lor added pointedly. "You'll break something."

"Eh, Dib thought I looked cool." Carrius shrugged off the obvious concern of his brother.

"No opinion." Dib replied quickly. He wasn't about to get between the two brothers. He pulled up the list Derick had left for him to follow when setting up major communications. He used Zim's translator he had gotten as a Christmas gift to double check that he was reading it right (Dib had been practicing his Tangean in his off time). He began to go through all the steps.

"How are the weapons preparations going?" The Captain asked, looking back at her own notes.

"You know, pretty good." Dib wasn't going to bring up a cobra canon until he absolutely had to.

"We have Lard-Nar investigating the current Irken defenses. He will be by with updates to what we need." She looked up and Dib quickly nodded.

"I can't believe we're trusting him with any task after what he did to my ship." Tak grumbled, slinking down in her seat. The Captain looked over; eyes narrowed.

"You are both equally at fault for what happened to the ship. Cadet Membrane Senior is also... well.. somewhat responsible." Dib coughed awkwardly, trying to avoid being dragged into this discussion, given how his family was fairly responsible for the destruction of Tak's ship. (Though she was mostly repaired by now, from what Lor had told him.) "Any word from the other Irkens?" The Captain must have sensed Dib's discomfort because she changed the subject.

"Not much." Tak was staring hard at her communicator, violet eyes in focus. "I got a message from Almighty Tallest V that just said: we're doomed, with a little smiley face at the end. So, I'm not sure how to interpret that." Despite being technically a member of the Syndicate, Tak seemed to take her Tallests very seriously. She had never even met Vero before he landed here, but she spoke of him in very high regard (proving she must have never met him before). It was still a little weird for Dib to think that the door guard they tricked with a speech about pizza, became the Tallest. (Though, in retrospect, it was entirely possible that they had not tricked Vero at all; and he was simply going along with them to help find the truth about the strange events on the Massive.)

"Charming." The Captain looked unamused by Vero's little message. "Hopefully your leaders have some sort of battle plan for us. Going in blind against a perfectly coordinated machine is less than ideal."

"Then you really think the Syndicate will help?" Tak looked up.

"I don't know..." The Captain admitted with a big sigh. "But we can only hope they do." She looked back to Dib. "Are we ready, Cadet?"

"Yes, Captain. Everything is online and running smoothly." Yes, the situation was dire- but Dib couldn't help but revel in reporting to an alien military Captain as her number one scientist. Sure, Tak called him glorified I.T. but damn it if Dib didn't feel important.

"Carrius, patch us through to Capitol Planet. I've paged Captain Fluorine to meet us here." The Captain instructed, voice completely cool and collected. Dib had not had much interaction with Captain Fluorine. She seemed a lot quieter than Captain Rose- though it may have just been harder to hear her in her helmet. Apparently, Captain Fluorine couldn't quite survive in Earth's atmosphere and that was why she was constantly suited up.

"Hailing Capitol Planet." Carrius was standing at a control panel. The door swished open and Captain Fluorine slid soundlessly in behind them. There was a pause before once again Dib was looking into a room filled with various alien lifeforms. He wanted to see Capitol Planet; when all of this was over, Lor had promised to take him.

"High Council, good of you to meet us on such short notice." The Captain walked forward, standing tall, shoulders back as she saluted with fluidity to the aliens before them.

"You said it was urgent." The Chairman was in the center of the group, her wife, the general, at her side. The Chairman looked as elegant as ever, clad in shimmering white fabrics, hair adorned with crystals that looked unlike anything found on Earth.

"I am afraid so. Irken intelligence suggests there has been a move on the Massive toward war." The word 'war' caused a murmur amongst the council members. It was clear there was a distinct air of unease.

"We were afraid something like this might be on the horizon ever since we got a confusing threat from Almighty Tallest X." The Chairman spoke, her melodic voice quickly quieting the other members of the council.

"We're pretty sure it was a threat, at least." The General crossed her arms over her chest. "It did have an angry face in the message."

"Angry... face?" The Captain blinked uncertainly.

"D... don't worry about it." The Chairman sighed shaking her head. "It is a long, confusing story." She placed her hands before her on the table. "The question now is whether or not to take this war to Irk; or simply to remain optimistically defensive."

"With all due respect, Chairman, we need the Syndicate's help here. I have seen the Irken Resistance first hand and they are actually terrible." Tak spoke up. "I mean they're letting Zim act as a General for Mothra's sake!"

"And that's... bad?" The Chairman looked uncertain.

"Terrible." Tak confirmed.

"There's also the matter of Earth. Almighty Tallest X has openly been spiteful of the planet." The Captain continued. "We have it on good authority from Almighty Tallest V that she might launch a full Invasion of this neutral territory. Typically, I know we wouldn't involve ourselves in that, however it seems to be in direct retaliation to Earth's cooperation with us."

"That is troublesome." The Chairman sighed. "When this has passed, we may need to officially discuss the incorporation of Earth as a Syndicate Planet. However, this is not the time, nor the correct committee for such an endeavor." She rubbed the bridge of her angular nose.

"Really?" Dib blinked uncertainly. "You mean you guys want Earth to join you?" None of the members of the Nova had seemed particularly fond of Earth in the past, so he was pleasantly surprised. If the Syndicate made good on their intention, all the kids he had gone through elementary, middle, and high school with would finally see that he was right about everything. And it wouldn't hurt to reveal that he was already in a position with this intergalactic government.

"If only for your own protection." The Chairman replied, diplomatically.

"And for pizza." Carrius replied, mouth full of cheese. "Mom you have to try pizza." Captain Rose turned to mouth 'stop it' at him.

"Isn't it incredibly unhealthy?" The Chairman dropped her regal persona for just a moment. "Carrius how much of that stuff do you eat?"

"I mean more than you want to know- but seriously you have to try it. It will redefine food." He continued to shove a second slice into his mouth. (Dib wasn't even sure when or where he had gotten the pizza). At least Carrius liked something about Earth.

"Carrius," The Chairman sighed, "where were you even keeping that food?"

"In m'uh pocket," Carrius mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Stop keeping food in your pocket, Carrius we've talked about this." The Chairman seemed unenthusiastic.

"Syndicate Uniforms are sterilized and pizza's good." Carius defended himself. "Earth's food is super delicious don't judge."

"Their entertainment industry is pretty solid too." Lor added helpfully from the back. "You guys need to watch this running program they have called DOOCSISVULNME7. It's so crazy you just watch it unfold like a disaster."

"Fascinating, my son, however we must get back to the task at hand." While it seemed like the Chairman was trying to do her best to reorient the focus of the meeting, her wife now looked truly interested in what Earth had to offer.

"Is that the program you had me watch?" The General seemed to have not heard the Chairman at all.

"Yeah, I knew you'd like Alphonso and Brianna. Their underground alien tech ring subplot reminded me of you." Lor replied eagerly. Dib had to admit, he had never actually watched the show, but he knew Lor liked it and had been meaning to sit down for an episode or two with him.

"Oh, it was awesome, but I didn't really understand the whole thing between Cynthia and Pierre and their offspring-" The General began excitedly.

"Darling, the meeting." The Chairman sighed looking over at her wife.

"Right." The General sat back in her seat, straightening her posture. "I am aware that Earth will most likely need Syndicate support regardless of our direct involvement in the war."

"Direct involvement!?" Tak's antennae were straight up. "It's a war against you- well um- us." She corrected herself quickly. "You can't get more directly involved! Want it or not, you can't just not engage."

"We are very aware of that, First Officer Tak." The Chairman spoke calmly. "The debate is whether to focus on defending ourselves or to go for the attack."

"Is there a set course of action from the Irken Resistance?" The General asked, leaning forward.

"Not... as of yet." Tak admitted, slinking back in her seat and checking her communicator. "It seems they want to know how much Syndicate support to expect."

"We never should have taken an alliance with Irk to begin with! The Irkens are bloodthirsty conquerors!" One of the other members of the council spoke up, sounding annoyed.

"I am right here." Tak stated flatly.

"First Officer Tak excluded, of course." The council member added, halfheartedly.

"The Empire is a staple in the universal economy. We can't have just ignored them." The Chairman replied coolly. "And to have gone to war initially would have been devastating for both of our communities. We have been home to many Irkens since our alliance was first established and they have never caused issues."

"We can't risk sending our own troops out there. If the Resistance loses, we'll have need for them here to protect our people." Another member spoke up.

"If the Resistance loses, we'll have a hoard of hive minded super soldiers coming straight for us. If that is the case it will be easy to gain support from other nearby allies to protect our planets." The General seemed to be on the side of the Irkens.

"Though if this can be avoided all together that would be ideal." The Chairman spoke again and things grew quiet. "And right now, we have reason to believe that the only way to avoid complete and utter devastation of a war, is to support the rebels."

"What if they fail? We'll look like we were funding an uprising." Another council member voiced their concern.

"If they fail war is inevitable." The Chairman replied. There was a low murmur that spread through the other members. Low whispers were exchanged that weren't picked up by the microphones.

"It seems like it is in our best interest to give full support to the Irkens." Another member spoke.

"We will put it to a vote." The Chairman spoke calmly. "Voting initiate." There was a flurry of movement as each member of the war council placed their hands on the underside of the table at which they were seated. One by one, small symbols appeared before each member seated. Each symbol was unique, carved into a floating, metallic plaque. "All in favor." One by one blue lights began illuminating under the various symbols. The Chairman's own symbol flared up in bright, vivid blue. "All opposed." A few of the symbols became aglow with a deep, rich red color. Dib watched in awe as the Chairman surveyed the room. There were more blue votes than red, though not by much. Dib felt relief wash over himself, and he saw Tak visibly relax.

"Thank you, High Council. Irk will be indebted to you." Tak was shockingly respectful, her head bowed.

"With that being said," the Chairman nodded to Tak in acknowledgement and appreciation, "there is the matter of transport. Our reinforcements are still quite far away. We have a few ships scattered throughout, but until we can get the brunt of our military force to you, you will need to make due with who is available. It would be unfair to ask any Ranger to go in without backup so until the fleet is mobilized, any aid you receive from nearby Rangers such as the crew of the lovely Solar and Nova, will be decided on a ship-to-ship basis by the crewmembers."

"That is fair and just, High Council Chairman. " Captain Rose nodded, hands behind her back as she turned to survey the room. "I will need to discuss our options with my crew. Our answer will be given before the end of the day."

"The same can be said for the Solar." Captain Fluorine spoke up for the first time, the synthetic tone of her voice reminded Dib a little of CB.

"Then things are settled for you. If you choose to go with the Irkens, you have our blessing and our support. Be free, be proud, be unified Captains."

"Be free, be proud, be unified." Rose and Fluorine echoed the Syndicate mantra with fervor in their voices. The call was ended and the room was once more returned to normal. Tak immediately turned toward Captain Rose.

"You are going to help us, aren't you?"

"You are technically Syndicate, First Officer." Captain Rose replied with a slight sigh. "However, the most probable outcome is that we will be providing aid to the Irken cause. Still, it must be put to a proper vote."

"Well, I am technically on your crew and I vote that we should help." Tak replied, quickly.

"I will keep that in mind. Cadet Membrane, First Officer Carrius, Chief Medic Lor: we will need to discuss our future in this Rebellion."

"Wait, me too?" Dib was a bit surprised to hear his own name.

"Of course, you're a member of my crew, aren't you?" The Captain looked at him expectantly. Dib felt his heart do a summersault in his chest. Sure, he had been given the uniform and tasks to do (though some of the tasks were just homework from Captain Rose's class- for a human disguise she took her day job very seriously); however, he had always been under the impression that the Syndicate were humoring him. Even when they invited his family to serve alongside him, it had not really occurred to the clone that the Captain was being serious.

"Yes, Captain. " Dib saluted proudly. He realized now, that he had a real future with the Syndicate and, should everything go well, the Empire too.

"Your family are technically considered consultants, though if they feel strongly one way or the other, I will be happy to hear their concerns." The Captain continued.

"They..." Dib thought hard about the conversation from earlier, "they will probably want to fight, if I'm being honest."

"I will need to discuss things with the Solar." Captain Fluorine nodded to Captain Rose. "But with the amount of resistance you will be expecting from Irk it may not be a bad idea for us to accompany you. Still, it is up to my crew."

"Oh, there's a message from Almighty Tallest Red..." Tak had looked ready to protest Captain Fluorine's noncommittal response but was distracted by a sound Dib couldn't hear. It had brought her attention to her communicator. The Captain arched an eyebrow looking over curiously.

"Oh? What does Voel want?"

"Tallest Red," Tak emphasized, "wants all Irkens to report to the home base. He says it's urgent."

"Sounds like they have a plan." The Captain nodded to Tak. "I need to discuss our current decision with your leaders anyway. Perhaps I should accompany you to Zim's house."

"It's called home base- not Zim's house." Tak was very quick to correct her.

"But it is Zim's actual house." The Captain countered.

"It is a base of operations for an Irken Resistance that Zim just happens to live in." Tak correct.

"So... it's Zim's house."

"No. it's. not." Tak's eyes narrowed at the Captain's refusal to call the base by what she wanted.

"Should you be talking back to your superior officer like this?" The Captain had a hand on her hip, smirk playing at her lips.

"Forgive me, Captain, but giving Zim too much credit is dangerous. He's terrible and his ego is already intolerable. Don't make it worse." This seemed to be a hill on which Tak was willing to die, so the Captain let it drop.

"Very well, no matter what the place is called we best get over there. The other Irken refugees will most likely be needing transport so I will have to work something out to get them across town subtly." The Captain looked thoughtful. "Maybe I can charter a bus from the school."

"Why not steal one?" Tak asked flatly. Captain Rose whirled around on her heel, looking back at the Irken First Officer with fire in her eyes.

"I am this fucking close to getting tenure at this university and I will be burning dead on a battlefield before I give that up." Tak stared at her blankly.

"Isn't that just your fake job to hide as a human? Why do you care?"

"Education is a Syndicate value. I don't care how primitive the planet. And I worked hard for my position!" It was good to see that Dib wasn't the only one surprised by how seriously the Captain took her teaching job. "Plus, to charter a bus it is just a matter of paperwork! And if there is one thing I know, it's filling out forms." She turned back to face her crew, no longer passionately enraged, but rather quite calm. "Our meeting for the vote will have to wait. I feel like we'll be able to make a more informed decision after I have spoken with Voel."

Tak made a coughing sound that sounded suspiciously like: 'Almighty Tallest Red'.

"Until I return, please continue about your duties as you would normally." The Captain ignored Tak's attempt at passive aggressiveness and hurried out of the meeting hall. Dib watched her go with Tak chasing after her. He looked to Lor and Carrius to see how they would react to the exchange, but neither seemed particularly affected by it.

"Guess I'm back in med bay." Lor gave Dib a little half smile. "At least until dinner- assuming we're still on for tonight."

"Oh yeah, definitely." Dib assured him.

"And I'm going to go back to doing paperwork because no one invited me to dinner." Carrius feigned a sad tone, holding the back of his hand to his forehead as if swooning.

"You'll live." Lor replied flatly. "Plus aren't you, Pawl, and Garblarafareah supposed to be watching that action movie tonight. And didn't you just eat like five slices of pizza?!"

"Yes, but it's more fun to pretend I don't have plans because it annoys you." Carrius grinned at his brother who rolled his eyes but Dib could see the hint of a smile on Lor's lips. Lor shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Get to work, asshole."

"That'sFirst Officer Asshole, you little shit."

"Hey, is it okay if I run to do something before, I head back to work?" Dib interrupted the banter as a thought crossed his mind.

"Oh, yeah sure." Carrius nodded. "Dismissed. Just hurry back. I'm not sure how much I trust your family in the weapons lab alone."

"That's a valid concern!" Dib called back as he already headed out of the base. He had learned, vaguely, where each of the exits were, so he chose the one that would take him to the History building, it was the closest to his apartment. From there he walked across the campus to his complex, stopping just shy of the door and turning to go to the parking lot instead. There, untouched, was his car. He pulled out the keys, stopping short for a moment as he just stood, staring at it.

He shook himself and opened the door, sliding into the driver's seat. He closed the door behind him. The interior was fairly cold, and old snow still covered the windshield. Dib closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing himself for warmth. He wanted to try something.

"Good afternoon, CB."

The car sprung to life at once. The heat turned on, and the wipers began to try and scrape off the offending snow. "Hello." The voice from his speakers greeted him almost hesitantly. Dib had never bothered to completely wipe his car- nor was he sure it would have mattered. Perhaps, a part of him knew his anger would eventually subside, and with his phone having been destroyed, this was his main link to CB. (At least the main one he knew about.)

"So... what's going on with Zim and them?"

"You are only saying 'hello' for information?"

"No..." Dib dragged out the word for longer than necessary. "I... I mean... yeah... kinda..." When CB phrased it like that it sounded bad.

"I suppose I should just be pleased that we are at least on speaking terms now."

"No, I said some stuff to you that wasn't right. CB, I'm not mad anymore. I was just kind of blindsided by everything and I got pretty heated." Dib sighed. "But to be fair you jumping around in my appliances and shit was pretty fucked up too."

"... that is a valid assessment." The AI confirmed.

"But the way I see it, you're not the same AI. If anything, Gaz pointed out that it's kind of like he's your dad or something? And I've been spending a lot of time with my own dad lately and I'm not one hundred percent certain he's not at least somewhat evil? So yeah. I can't really hold you to the standards of a program fifty years your senior."

"I just assumed like most humans your father was made somewhat insane by the amounts of radiation in your atmosphere."

"What"

"What?" The AI echoed.

"What did you just say?"

"I said: Does this mean you wish to be friends again?"

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

Dib sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere. "Yeah, CB. We're friends again." Dib leaned back in the seat, CB had turned on the seat warmers, which was a welcome realization. "So how have you been, CB? What are you up to aside from getting into various electronic devices?"

"I have been... stressed... I think."

"You can get stressed?"

"I do not know. That is why I said: I think."

"Fair 'nuff." Dib settled more into his seat. "So, what's got you upset? Is someone visiting websites they shouldn't? Is it Therron?" To his surprise the AI actually laughed at his coy little joke. Good to see his icebreaking attempt was working.

"Not this time." The AI was quiet for a moment. "You know I was made to be a Control Brain, Affirmative?"

"Yeah."

"Father and the others wish for me to fulfill my duties."

"So that's why their getting all the Irkens to go to Zim's place?" That made perfect sense. Zim had mentioned re-coding and coding in several conversations throughout their friendship. Dib was somewhat aware of the process and how integral it was to an Irken's identity. The fact that they were putting this sort of mission on CB showed him just how far the Irkens were willing to go to protect their home, to salvage it from the Control Brains that wished to consume the minds of their populace like a virus.

It was actually admirable.

"Affirmative." There was a hesitation in CB's voice that Dib was unaccustomed to hearing. CB was usually rather dry and caustic or overly enthusiastic, an echo of his creator. This self-doubt seemed less like Zim and perhaps was a lingering remnant of the human AI.

"Your first big job as a Control Brain. Zim must be proud."

"He... seems to be."

"You don't sound as excited."

"I... still have concerns."

"You'll get it."

"You seem remarkably okay with this given our history together." Dib could hear the skeptical tone of his voice loud and clear through the speakers.

"Look, CB, if this is what Zim needs to do, it's what has to happen. I can't stop him from trying to save his home. Earth is kind of on the line too, remember?"

"I do."

"So just make me a promise, okay?"

"What promise?"

"Don't flip the evil switch and try to out-murder the Control Brains or something crazy. We already had once crazy AI here on Earth and honestly, it's played out. If Earth is going to get destroyed let's do it with like a black hole or something creative, you know?"

"I..." the voice sounded a little bit happier. Though Dib could not see his expression, he liked to think the AI was smiling. "... believe I can promise that."