I don't own Invader Zim okay? I know it's been awhile since I had updated this story, but I can't control when inspiration hits! Not to mention real life issues. However I have recently finished my degree requirements so the only main thing keeping me from updating, other than our old friend writer's block is work. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
"Are we there yet?" Skoodge panted as he followed Zim along the road they had walked to get to the mall.
"I thought you were an Invader who had defeated Blorch." Zim sassed.
"Those were dumb rat people!" Skoodge yelled. "I fired off a few shots of my blaster and they thought I was their god! That's how I was able to make Blorch the first conquered planet on Operation Impending Doom II!"
"So why did the Tallest fire you as part of the Final Cannon Sweep?" Zim asked as Skoodge shrugged. Rolling his eyes, Zim pulled out a communicator. "Maybe they can give us directions back as I am totally lost."
Meanwhile, Tenn was working on making realistic college records and a graduate student persona while Tak laid on her bunk staring at the ceiling. "Tak, what do you think?" Tenn asked, causing Tak to look over.
"Huh?" Tak asked. "I wasn't listening."
"Too busy thinking about Dib?" Tenn giggled as Tak threw a pillow at her. "Fine I won't prod any further. But what makes an excellent but convincing profile for a graduate student to work at one of this planet's most renound and respected laboratories?"
"Don't make it too good." Tak said as Tenn looked curious. "Let me put it this way, if it is someone who has a perfect grading history at one of those as these humans call it, "Ivy League" colleges. Too good and too expected. But don't have it be one of the worst." Tak noted.
"Okay, so like what do you suggest?" Tenn sighed. "Remember I am not the one pretending to be a high school senior here. I don't know shit about colleges here."
"Okay one thing I do recall from what Dib told me is that most of the Ivy Leagues are so overpriced they become nothing but glorified adult babysitting for the rich snobby alumni, those whose parents went there before." Tak clarified. "A state university can offer as a good degree as anywhere else." Tak recalled from the standard meeting she had with a guidance counselor who had droned on like he had read everything off a script and just said the same thing to every student ever in that high school. Sitting up, she started typing into the stolen laptop. "Let me check one thing..."
"Just what are you checking?" Tenn asked.
"Programs at a real college to make it seem normal. I mean we can always hack their systems and install the records to make it look like you did it anyway, this technology is so inferior and getting past the blocks they have so easy. Even if it took a bit of effort, humans are very suggestible and forgetful." Tak said.
"So what am I a graduate in?" Tenn sighed.
"Found one. SUNY Phd recipient of nanobioscience." She smiled. "It's the university system of this state, and that title sounds cool and Membrane already tried an experiment with blood and coffee beans considered unethical at the time but your 'degree' can come up with something to make it seem so and he might like that." Tenn looked at Tak confused. "SUNY is a good school, but not overly good, has a decent reputation and your degree will be one that shows an interest similar to one of Membrane's favorite projects. All ways to as humans call it, 'grease the wheels' and get into the labs."
"Fine, fine..." Tenn sighed. "You'd do better at this kind of thing than me. I mean look at all this research you've done..."
Ignoring Tenn, Tak went on. "So we're going to have to modify your disguise a little bit." She took the glasses that Tenn used to generate the disguise and plugged them into the base's computer. What appeared on the screen was an image of a 19 year old redheaded human girl with twin braids, a plain shirt and long skirt. "I can't believe you went so plain..."
"What?" Tenn sighed. "I was going for innocent and inconspicuous. No one at my library studies paid much attention to me."
"I swear you may have post traumatic stress disorder from that Meek rob and Malfunctioning SIR incident." Tak sighed rolling her eyes.
"And you my dearest Tak have some psychological issues of your own you may need to work out." Tenn said poking Tak in the face.
"Shove it up your squeedlyspooch." Tak said as she began to adjust the figure on the screen. "Now I had done some research and the hiring manager for researchers at Membrane labs is a man. Also Professor Membrane himself will sit in on candidates with high levels of education, which yours will be. But they are human males, in between the ages of 40-65."
"And?" Tenn said confused as she noticed some enhancements that Tak was making to the bust of the disguise and slimming of the waist as she aged up the disguise a few more years. "Why are you doing that?" Tenn said rather annoyed. "You're making my disguise look like a bimbo!"
"Bimbo?" Tak paused.
"It's a girl who has a body type a lot like this one! I have heard human females talk horribly about women like this." Tenn yelled. "I don't think I could take it."
"You can and there's a reason for it!" Tak yelled back.
"Which is?" Tenn sighed.
"Manipulation." Tak said. "Human males are driven by greed and ambition and the desire to look superior to others of their age while dealing with their own mortality. Studies have shown that one considered attractive has an easier time in life getting in high positions than one of average or hideous appearance even with the exact same qualifications, if not better. This is all about infiltration. Something you should know a lot about."
"Since when did you care about the mission so much?" Tenn asked.
"Since I have to play double agent so the Tallest don't kill me before I can get out!" Tak yelled back as a thud was heard. She dropped her voice and looked around, heart racing full of fear hoping one of the tallest did not hear what she had just said. Tenn looked around, and headed to the door, opening it cautiously. "Anyone there?"
Tenn looked around at both sides of the hall. "Nope, I think something may have fell on the roof or maybe the Tallest dropped or bumped something a ways down as this thing can echo in certain places."
"Good." Tak sighed. "It's just, I don't know anymore. I play along to keep myself alive until I figure out what I want to do with myself. I don't want the Tallest to succeed with my work. I want them to pay for letting what happened to us happen. You and I both know they couldn't give two shits about us." Tenn nodded. "But it's just the two of us. And we cannot openly just take out the Tallest. Nor can we defy them so far out of any other legal protection that we may have had back in Irken territory."
"Which wasn't much..."Tenn sulked. "The only reason the Control Brains didn't have me killed was that the Tallest were the ones to save me. Didn't save my reputation. Then they say this mission would restore my honor back on Irk..."
"Will it?" Tak asked.
"I have a feeling there's something weird going on." Tenn said.
"So for now, we just go along the mission like we mean it." Tak said as Tenn nodded.
"I'm hungry..." Skoodge sighed as he looked greedily at the advertisements on the outside of Krazy Taco.
"Shut up Skoodge." Zim said. "We have to save Tenn and Tak before the enemy captures them and eats their brains."
"You sure humans do that?" Skoodge said.
"Sure, I saw it on a documentary called Dawn of the Dead." Zim said.
"I think that was just a human movie..." Skoodge said.
"It was on one of their broadcasts. I doubt they would lie on those..." Zim said as they continued their voyage through the city. In their convoluted reasoning, they thought they would need to find Tak and Tenn and save them then go back to the base. Skoodge suggested going back to the base to resupply and get more weaponry that might help them to find Tak and Tenn and defeat anyone who may have captured them and interrogated them for information. Zim saw it as his duty to the mission and the Tallest to make sure that they were safe.
Seeing that he would need to play along, Skoodge asked, "Why don't we use their TRAKs to see where they are at. I doubt the inferior humans would have a way to fool our superior Irken technology and we would know exactly where they are at and can follow that to where they are?"
Zim paused. He thought about Skoodge's proposal and nodded. "Brilliant idea Skoodge! How it slipped the mighty Zim's mind is beyond me." Zim said as he turned on the device he had to locate the TRAKs of Tak and Tenn. "Okay we need to go this way." Zim said as he followed the device, not paying attention to any of the humans around him.
"Lead the way." Skoodge said as he followed Zim. Looking around, he noticed that the humans were looking at them and whispering. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but the commotion that was going on had Skoodge start to become concerned. Zim said their disguise was effective enough. However with the looks that they were getting, he was getting worried. Tak and Tenn hardly had humans talking about them like I am seeing and hearing the humans talk now...Skoodge thought as they headed out of the city and to the woods. "This looks awfully familiar..."
"Like how?" Zim asked, still staring at the tracking device.
"Like this is the woods around the base." Skoodge said. "I mean there's that bush that looks like Shirley Bassey."
"Who is or what is a Shirley Bassey?" Zim stopped and looked around at what Skoodge said.
"I don't know." Skoodge said. "But a character in a Earth movie said a bush looked like Shirley Bassey and that bush looks like that one in the movie..."
"Miyuki Skoodge..." Zim said as he placed his face in his palm. "Just what have you been doing?"
"Observing Earth Broadcasts? I mean that Single Female Lawyer show was pretty interesting. Sadly some idiot spilled beer on the transmitter so the last episode is only on bonus DVD sets." Skoodge explained.
"Well they should be behind this door..." Zim looked up.
"Well we're back at the base..." Skoodge said.
"This can't be right." Zim insisted. "It must be a trap. They have a hologram to make us think we are back at the base and that we will let our guards down."
Skoodge panicked. He knew this was the right place. It took them about the same amount of time to get back as to head to the spot in town they were before when Zim went chasing after the car with Tak and Tenn disguised in it. But the way Zim was acting he was bound to do something stupid and blow their cover or get himself into a lot of trouble with the Tallest and he did not want that to happen. They were probably already wondering where they were in the first place in his mind. But Zim was insane, this he was beginning to realize more and more. "You know Zim, why don't I go in first? See what is going on? They are bound to have heard of your might from Tak and Tenn..."
"Good idea." Zim smiled as he took Skoodge by the shoulders and pushed him towards the door when the faux cabin door opened to find Tak and Tenn standing in the doorway.
"Oh hello you two!" Skoodge said. "You're okay."
"Huh?" Tenn asked.
"I thought you two were captured by the humans?" Zim asked.
"Miyuki, as if a human could catch me..." Tak said as she grabbed Zim's hand. "You do realize that your actions were spotted by a human?"
"We were spotted?" Skoodge panicked.
"Well, you were spotted by a member of the species more intelligent than the rest so he might have thought of what you were. A member of the alien race," Tak explained. "And no, he would not fear you and beg for mercy, he would want to destroy you if he found out what you wanted to do to Earth."
"You seem to know a lot about this human." Zim said as Tak dragged him along to the Tallest throne room.
"Part of being a good Invader is to get in good with the enemy who may be a threat and neutralize it and neutralize does not always mean kill." Tak said as she opened the door to the throne room.
"Just what are you doing Tak?" Purple yelled standing you. "You're interrupting something very important."
"Not exactly, it was just a bad Spanish soap opera he didn't understand a word of." Red said.
"Well this is very important. Zim was spotted. By a human I was working on neutralizing his threat levels. This human is one of the few who is aware of extraterrestrial life and would stand up to us if he knew our intent." Tak explained.
"Thanks for telling us Tak." Red dismissed her. "We'll deal with Zim."
Tak left with a smirk on her face. It was because of his foolishness she was sent to Dirt. It is only a fraction of what that filth deserves but it's something. Skoodge looked at Tak worried. "What?" She asked noticing the look on his face.
"Is Zim going to be okay?" Skoodge said.
"I don't care." Tak sighed. "He nearly blew the mission. He nearly exposed you." She punched him on the shoulder. "Why would you let him drag you into trouble?"
"I don't know..." Skoodge said, intimidated by Tak.
"Well you had best know why and fix it." Tak said as she headed back to her cabin with Skoodge and Tenn standing there shocked. She knew she had to keep up the facade but she did not want Dib finding out what she was due to foolishness by Zim and Skoodge, which is what nearly could have happened with the day's events. And Dib would think she was using him. She actually had to admit she cared for him. He was someone she got along with and seemed to understand her. She wanted the universe to burn except for him. He was another being who was smarter than the rest of them who was left out and genius misunderstood. Why must I be cursed to live like this? She thought as she stared at the ceiling.
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. And yes I put Shrek 2 and Futurama references in there. I will try to update sooner but work and well inspiration can hold things up. I got some other stories that get stronger inspiration streaks than others, so I write what I feel. Anyway, remember to read, well you just did, and to review. Ciao for now,
otherrealmwriter
aka
Realm.